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Cbc ,i)iblc Stubciit's iCrbrai-,u. 



THESSALONICA; 

OR, THE MODEL CHURCH, 



AND 



I REASONS FOE/^\MY HOPE, 

BY H. L. HASTINGS; 



AND 



SPIRITUALISM 

A SATANIC E^ELUSION 

BY WILLIAM RAMSEY, D. D. 



BOSTON: 

PUBLSIHED BY H. L. HASTINGS, NO. 167 HANOVER ST. 
W. H, PIPER AND CO , NO. 133 WASHINGTON ST. 

NEW YORK . G- W. CARLETON, 413 BROADWAY. 

GEORGE W. YOUNG, 35 ANN ST. UP STAIRS. 

PHILADELPHIA : SMITH, ENGLISH, AND CO. 

1864. 



C^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year I86I5 by 

H. L. HASTINGS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 

State of Rhode Island. 



TO HIM 

Who, when his hour of sorrow was at har^l, 
Prayed for hLs People that they might 

" ALL BE ONE ;" 

To the Flock of God which he h&th purc^ased 



WITH HIS OWX BLOOD," 



1111)0 

'^HAVE BEEN SCATTERED IN THE CLOUDY AND DARK T)AT," 

Ul(]0 

Through human diPseiisioDS and divisions forget that 

" THERE IS ONE BODY," 

Ull]0 

In the multiplicity of human titles discard 

" THAT WORTHY NAME WHEREBY THEY ARE CALLED," 

U11]0 
By the guidance of human leaders are led astray frnta 

" THE CAPTAIN OF THEIR SALVATION," 

inijo 

Amid the discordance of human creeds fail to believ<» 

" THE WORD OF GOD," 

Bnt 

Who shall be gathered when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, 

" AND THERE SHALL BE ONE FOLD AND ONE SHEPHERD " 

^\)tsc pages, 

Written by one who, while he prays for the unity of Christ's Flock, 

YET ACKNOWLEGES 

No creed but the Bible, no master but Christ, 

AND NO NAME BUT CHRISTIAN, 

ARE I>i:r>ICATED, 

by 

A Servant of Christ and His Church. 



<> 






THE MODEL CHURCH. 

CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Cheist's Chitrch a Unit. Local Churches vary in Character. 
Causes of Difference. Examples. The Seven Churches of Asia. 
Paul's Epistles to various Churches. The Thessalonians least 
Blamed and most Commended of any. Hence it is a Model 
Church. By examination and comparison we can discern what 
Church is like it now. " Isms." Apostolic Succession, not 
in Name merely, but in Faith and Fact. Acorns from the 
Original Oak. pp. 9-17 

CHAPTER II. 
The Character op a Church depends largely upon that of 
ITS Founders. The Stream rises no higher than the Fountain. 
This Church was gathered by Good Men. Paul and Barnabas 
separate. Two Missions instead of One. Paul, Silas, and Timo- 
thy guided by the Holy Spirit. Forbidden to Preach in Asia. 
Not Bribed or Hired. They receive " a Call.'"' '' Come over and 
Help Us." They obey. Philippi their First Field. Success. 
DiflBculty with a " Spirit Medium." A Mob. Stripes and Im- 
prisonment. '' The Word of God is not Bound." Dialogue. 
Prayer. Praise. The Jailor and his House Saved. Deliveiance. 
The Apostles Depart. The Philippian Church. 18-33 

CHAPTER III. 

The Missionaries at Work. Men of Mark. They Preached the 
Word. They were, I. Persecuted and Despised, II. Bold and 
Out-spoken. III. Independent Men. They could Earn a Living, 
IV. Faithful and Honest. V, Gentle and Christ-like. VI. Ready 
to Preach. '' The Sword of the Spirit." '' With the Holy Ghost.' 
VIL Practical Teachers. The Sincere Milk of the V/ord. Sinv 
plicity. VIII. United. No Cause for Quarrels, One Rehgion. 



vi Contents. 

One Lord. One Father. One Faith. One Leader. Ministers of 
the New Covenant. 34-53 

CHAPTER IV. 

Results. Success not Universal. The Gospel Not a Failure. 
Some Believed. Pereecutions. A Mob. Accusations. Treason. 

• The Missionai'ies Depart. What Results do they Leave Behind 1 
A Candle Lighted Never to be Extinguished. Thirty Churches 
now in Thessalonica. 64-59 

CHAPTER V. 

The Model Church. Its Members. Not Naturally Christians. 
Why was it Peculiar '? I. They were Persecuted. Sneers, In- 
sulte, and Abuse. 11. They were Independent. Could Live with- 
out Preaching. Not in Perpetual Babyhood. Could Stand 
Alone. III. A Loving Church. Not Soui* and Quarrelsome. 
Brotherly Love. Taught of God to Love one Another. IV. A 
Believing Church. Not mere Faith in Mysteries, but Faith in 
Facts. The Work of Faith. V. A Patient Church. Passive 
as well as Active Virtues. Examples of Endurance. Valor 
is not Sufficient Endurance is Needful. VI. A Hopeful 
Church. Despair Depresses. Fear Weakens. Hope Gives 
Power. The Helmet. The Anchor. That Blessed Hope. Ever- 
lesting Consolation. What Memories the Apostles had of this 
Church ! Not of Pride, Worldliness, and Pomp, but Faith, Love, 
Zeal, and Purity, 60-82 

CHAPTER VL 

Such a Church as this must Work. A Missionary Church. — 
Without Modern Machinery. Worldly Policy Centrahzes — Chris- 
tian Policy Diffuses. Rome. Babel. A Tower. A Steeple. — 
The Word Sounded out. The Field Large. Facilities Few, •' In 
Every Place." How was it Done 1 Willing the Apostles should 
Go and Preach. Unselfish. Willing to Sacrifice. Not Devoted 
to Vices, Bad Habits, and Sins. Their Public Worship. Men 
Hearing were Convinced, — Converted, — Saved. Earnestness in 
Labor. Zeal. Their Success should Shame our Idleness in the 
Work. 83-106 



Contents. vii 

CHAPTER yii. 
Faith of the Thessalonian Church. " No matter what we Be- 
lieve." Wrong Faith causes AViong Action. Faith and Hope precede 
Labor. Turning from Idols. Covetousness. Lust. Pride. Serv- 
ing God. Waiting for His Son from Heaven. " I will Come 
Again." The IlEUNioif. The Crown of Rejoicing at His Coming. 
The Heart Established. Christian Perfection. Sanctification. 
Unblameableness in Holiness. At the Coming of our Lord Jesus. 
Perfected Through Sufferings. Trials and Storms. Moment- 
ary .Action. Type-setting. Correction. " Proof." Falling. — 
Peter. Stereotyping. Established for Eternity. At the Coming 
of Christ. Apostolic Consolations. Not without Hope. Jesus 
and the Resurrection. Them that Sleep. The Lord Himself 
shall Descend. We shall not go Before, The Ingathering. So 
shall we ever be with the Lord. The Times and the Seasons. 
Peace and Safety. The Day of the Lord. Sudden Destruction. 
Entire Sanctification. Full Salvation. Spirit and Soul and 
Body. The whole Being Renewed. At the Coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. This w^as theli' Faith. It made them a Model 
Church. Should we not Imitate their Faith and Works '? 

107-138 

CHAPTER VIXL 

The Faith of the Thessalonians. The Second Epistle. Tribu- 
lations. Rest and Retribution at the Coming of Christ. That Day 
not Impending. The Apostacy. The Man of Sin. The Mystery 
of Iniquity. The Lawless One. The Working of Satan. The 
Brightness of His Coming. Chronological Errors. Luther, Wes- 
ley, Fletcher, Miller. The Strong Delusion. Judicial Blindness, 
Phai'aoh, Balaam, Saul, Ahab. Sudden Overthrow. Where are 
We Now 7 Does the World Move'? Recapitulation. Faith of 
the Thessalonian Church. Twelve Passages Concerning Christ's 
Advent on Two Pages of a Pocket-Bible. Paul could Write of 
Coming Glory, for he needed not to Rebuke them for Present 
Sins. Sowing Tares. Plucking Them Up. Our Duty to Testify. 
Build rather than Destroy. May God increase Model Churches, 

139-168 



THESSALONICA; 

OR, 

THE MODEL CHURCH 



CHAPTER I. 

Christ's Church a Unit. Local Churches vary in Character. 
Causes of Difference. Examples. The Seven Churches of Asia. 
Paul's Epistles to various Churches. The Thessalonians least 
Blamed and most Commended of any. Hence it is a Model 
Church. By examination and comparison we can discern what 
Church is like it now. ''Isms." Apostolic Succession, not 
in Name merely, but in Faith and Fact, Acorns from the 
Original Oak. 

The Church of Jesus Christ in the earth is one 
Churchy as his people are members of one body^ and 
sheep of one Shepherd. But, notwithstanding this 
unity, there exists diversity among them. There 
are local diversities which pertain to their nationali- 
ties, or places of abode. There are constitutional 
diversities, resulting from various personal peculiari- 
ties. There are educational diversities, caused by 
varieties of culture which they have experienced. 
There are spiritual diversities, proportioned to the 
perfection of their personal experience in the things 
of God. There are doctrinal diversities, resultin^!: 
from misdirection, or from ignorance and prejudice, 



10 Thessalonica : 

which prevent their perfection in the knowledge of 
the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. And there are 
practical peculiarities caused by defective religious 
training, imperfect religious examples, a failure to 
apprehend and possess the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, 
or by a lack of suitable Christian guidance in the ear- 
lier periods of the Christian life. 

Hence, though men must stand at last singly and 
alone in the presence of their Judge, and receive 
according to their individual deserts, yet it is un- 
questionably true that local churches, no less, than 
single individuals, have a distinctive character, and 
the mass of professed Christians who compose them 
are sometimes viewed as a unit^ — as a single branch 
of the golden candlestick, shedding its light amid 
the surrounding darkness of its own special locality. 
Consequently churches become, by reason of their 
general collective character, objects, of praise or of 
reproof, causes of gratitude or of sorrow to the Lord 
and his servants. 

The seven churches of Asia afford sufficient illus- 
trations of this principle. He who walked in the 
midst of the seven golden candlesticks knew the 
works and character of each separate . local church. 
Bphesus and Smyrna, Pergamos and Thyatira, Sardis, 
Philadelphia, and Laodicea, all were peculiar. No 
two were alike. Each needed special reproof, admo- 
nition, consolation, and encouragement, adapted to 
their own special diversities and peculiarities. 



The Model Church. 11 

In like manner, if the epistles of Paul be examin- 
ed, they indicate that he, like him who '^ holdeth 
the seven stars in his right hand and walketh in the 
midst of the seven golden lampstands," adapted his 
epistles to the varied characteristics and necessities 
of each individual church which he addressed, no 
church receiving epistles which did not vary in essen- 
tial particulars from the epistles directed to other 
and dissimilar churches existing in other localities 
and under different circumstances. 

If we should consult the epistles of Paul at length 
upon this point, we might gain a very full and accu- 
rate idea of the character of each individual church, 
from the words of instruction, rebuke, admonition, 
and encouragement which his quick understanding 
and parental affection, under the guidance of inspi- 
ration^ enabled him to give to each, according to 
their needs. 

Judging by tkis criterion, it is worthy of remark 
that among all the churches to which Paul address- 
ed epistles, the church at Thessalonica must be 
regarded as emphatically the Model Church. 

In his epistles to the Corinthians he refers to men 
among them who were carnal, puffed up, guilty of 
fornication, disorderly, drunken, and who were deni- 
ers of the resurrection of the dead. He writes to 
them as if they were unequally yoked together with 
unbelievers, misled by false apostles, led to deny the 
aDostlesbix) of Paul, so that ^^ out of much affliction 



12 Thessalonica : 

and anguish of heart'' he wrote unto them ^^ with 
many tears/' and feared lest when he came to them 
again God would humble him among them, and he 
should bewail many which had sinned already, and 
had not repented of the uncleanness and fornication 
and lasciviousness which they had committed. 

To the Galatians he writes : " foolish Galatians ! 
who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey 
the truth ? How turn ye again to the weak and 
beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be 
in bondage. Ye observe days, and months, and 
times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have 
bestowed upon you labor in vain. Where is, then, 
the blessedness ye spake of ? Am I therefore be- 
come your enemy, because I tell you the truth ?'^ 

To the Philippians, who were above most in their 
love and zeal, he yet writes : '' For many walk of 
whom I have told you often, and now tell you even 
weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of 
Christ ; whose end is destruction, whose God is their 
belly, and whose glory is their shame, who mind 
earthly things." 

To the CoUossians he says : '^ Beware lest any 
man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, 
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, 
or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or 
of the Sabbaths. Let no man beguile you of your 
reward in a voluntary humib'tv and worshiping of 



The Model Church. 13 

angels, intruding into those things which he hath 
not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. . . . 
Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudi- 
ments of the world, why, as though living in the 
world, are ye subject to ordinances ?'' 

Such are the apostolic reproofs which indicate the 
presence of secret sin, of open ungodliness, of incipient 
apostacy, of dangerous and fatal error, of carnality and 
culpable sectarianism, among the various churches to 
whom Paul wrote and among whom he had labored. 

But of the Thessalonians he writes : '^ We give 
thanks to God always for you all, making mention 
of you in our prayers ; remembering without ceasing 
your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience 
of hope in the sight of God and our Father ; know- 
ing, brethren beloved, your election of God. ... Ye 
were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and 
Achaia. For this cause also thank we God without 
ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God 
which ye heard of us, ye received it hot as the word 
of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which 
effectually worketh also in you that believe. . . .When 
Titus came from you unto us and brought us good 
tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have 
good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to 
see us, as we also to see you ; therefore, brethren, we 
were comforted over you, in all our affliction and 
distress by your faith : for now we live, if ye stand 
fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render 



14 Thessalonica : 

to Grod again for you, for all the joy wherewith wc 
joy for your sakes before our God : night and day 
praying exceedingly that we might see your face, 
and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith ? 
We are bound to thank Grod always for you, breth- 
ren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth 
exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all to- 
wards each other aboundeth ; so that we ourselves 
glory in you in the churches of Grod, for your patience 
and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations 
that ye endure. But we are bound to give thanks 
always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, 
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to 
salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and 
belief of the truth ; w^hereunto he called you by our 
Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. . . . And we have confidence in the Lord 
touching you, that ye both do and will do the things 
which we command you." 

Such were the encomiums which the apostle Paul 
pronounced upon this beloved church, which was, as 
he styled it, his ^' hope and joy and crown of rejoic- 
ing," '^ in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at 
his coming." For, said he, ^^ ye are our glory and 
our joy." And not one sin does he charge them with 
as a church ; and in both his epistles the only fault 
he adverts to is, that there were some among them 
which '^ walked disorderly," '^ working not at all," 
but were '' busy bodies" Such he charged to work 



The Model Church. 15 

with their hands that they mi^ht with quietness 
eat their own bread, instead of idling about and 
depending for support upon others. 

With this single exception I do not know of a 
fault, a sin, or a dangerous error which he imputes 
to them, or for which he reproves them. How un- 
like the Corinthians or Galatians were these Thes- 
salonian Christians ! How noble must have been 
the Christian life which could elicit such commen- 
dations from the Apostle to the Gentiles and his 
associates, Silas and Timothy, and which could prove 
to him in all his persecutions and trials a wellspring 
of thanksgiving, a cause of constant consolation ! 

In these days of corruption and disputation, of 
worldlineas and formality, of riot and ease and lux- 
ury, of mighty appetite and of feeble faith, of sec- 
tarian jangling and quarreling about " lo here'' and 
^^lo there," — in these times, when the glorious wor- 
ship of the Father in spirit and in truth seems sunk 
into a fruitless debate as to whether '^ Jerusalem" 
or '' this mountain " is the place where men ought 
to worship, — when Jews have no dealings with 
Samaritans, and look aghast if one of them dares to 
ask at the hand of the other a drink of water from 
the well of truth, even though wearied and faint 
with the noonday toils of the pilgrimage, — when the 
well which ''our father Jacob di0:D'ed, and from which 
he drank with his servants and his flocks, and which 
he gave unto us,'' seems more precious in the eyes 



16 Thessalonica : 

of many than the gift of God and '^ the fountain of 
living water/' — when sects and creeds and names 
and parties that Christ and his apostles never men- 
tioned or heard of in the days of their flesh, clamor 
to be regarded as the true^ or if not the true, the 
truest church of Jesus Christ on earth, — when men 
and doctrines and theories and forms give names and 
titles to those who yet profess to have " named the 
name of Christ,'" — when a Christian is an anomaly, 
when to be a follower of Christ defines nothing un- 
less you have some ^^ — -»ist" or " ite" attach- 
ed to you as a title, — when to be '^ a Christian, a 
mere Christian and nothing but a Christian,^' leaves 
you destitute of fellowship, outside of the pale of 
brotherhood, and fenced away from the table of the 
Lord by some creed, confession, or formula which was 
never born from above, nor bestowed by Christ when 
he ^' led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men,'' 
— at such a time it may be well to see if there are 
aiiy successors of the apostles and the apostolic 
churches on the earth at this day ; not successors in 
name merely, or in locality only ; not successors in 
form simply, or in place, in London, Jerusalem, or 
Rome, but successors in faith, in works, in spirit and 
power and love ; not the worms and crickets and 
bugs that nestle in the old rotting trunk and bark 
of the original prostrate tree, but the lithe and 
sturdy young oaks, full of sap and vital energy, that 
have sprung from the genuine acorns that have fallen 



Tlie Model Church. 17 

from its branches and taken root in the soil beneath 
its shade ! 

And how can we ascertain this more effectually 
than by sketching the character of a model apostolic 
church, and by noting its peculiarities, its founding, 
its ministry, its faith, its hope, and its practice ; and 
taking this, — as the philosopher of old walked the 
streets with his lantern at mid-day in search of a 
man., — we, guided by the word of Grod, may enquire 
for the OLD paths and learn '^ the good way '' and 
strive to be such Christians as the Lord can honor 
and bless, such as enjoyed the love and approbation 
of '^ the goodly fellowship of the apostles" and "the 
noble army of the martyrs" in the ages long gone by. 
With this object in view, we proceed to examine the 
character and the peculiarities of the Thessalonian 
church as deduced from the epistles of Paul and his 
associates, and from the record of their labors among 
them. 



18 Thessalonica : 



CHAPTER IL 

The Character op a Chfrch depends largely upon that of 
ITS Founders. The Stream rises no higher than the Fountain. 
This Church was gathered by Good Men. Paul and Barnabas 
separate. Two Missions instead of One. Paul, Silas, and Timo- 
thy guided by the Holy Spirit, Forbidden to Preach in Asia. 
Not Bribed or Hired, They receive " a Call." " Come over and 
Help Us." They obey. Philippi their First Field. Success. 
Difficulty with a " Spirit Medium." A Mob. Stripes and Im- 
prisonment. " The Word of God is not Bound." Dialogue, 
Prayer. Praise. The Jailor and his House Saved. Deliverance, 
The Apostles Depart. The Philippian Church. 

The character of any church will^ under God, al- 
ways depend greatly upon the character of the men 
under whose labors the church is gathered, or by 
whom its members are led to a knowledge of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

If the ministry are proud, covetous, worldly, and 
lazy, the converts will usually be like them. The 
stream rises no higher than the foufitain, and no 
ministry composed of ease- loving, pelf-seeking hire- 
lings will ever marshal and lead forth an host of 
self-sacrificing, godly, steadfast men to fight in the 
battles of the Lord. And, with a disposition to 
make the best of everything, when I have seen these 
worldly-minded, prayerless, spiritless, animal Baalam- 



The Model Church. 19 

ites bringing in their damnable heresies among the 
flock of God^ I have thanked Grod that they could do 
BO little through their laziness, and that the con- 
verts they made, since they did no good, would do 
less hurt than if they were trained in the school of 
apostolic diligence, privation, zeal, and self-denial. 

In the good providence of God the church of the 
Thessalonians was gathered under the labors of good 
and true and faithful men, and men who were nol 
only faithful before, and faithful afterwards, but 
men who then, at the very time of their laboring 
there, had a present participation in the sufferings 
and reproaches which fell upon Jesus Christ. The 
preachers were Paul and Silas and Timothy, and the 
circumstances of their mission to Thessalonica were 
as follows. 

Paul, having separated from Barnabas at Antioch, 
went forth with Silas on a mission among the Gen- 
tiles. The contention between Paul and Barnabas 
was evidently providential, as, instead of their both 
going together on one mission, Barnabas took Mark 
and Paul took Silas, and so two missions went forth, 
each with one aged and experienced and one more 
youthful preacher to proclaim the glad tidings among 
the Gentiles. So God brought good from seeming 
evil and made the wrath of man to praise him. 

The two preachers, Paul and Silas, left Antioch, 
** being recommended by the brethren unto the grace 
of God. And they went through Syria and Cilicia 



20 Thessalonica : 

confirming the churches/' They then came to 
Derbe and Lystra, and at Lystra they found Timo- 
thy, whom Paul called to go forth with them. As 
they went through the cities they delivered to them 
the decrees of the apostolic council at Jerusalem to 
keep, " and so were the churches established in the 
faith, and increased in number daily." When they 
had passed Phrygia and the region of Galatia '' they 
were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the 
word in Asia." They were thus constantly under 
divine control ; they were led by the spirit of God 
and were the sons of God. No rulers at home could 
rule their course ; and no offers of filthy lucre from 
the regions of Asia could tempt them to stray from 
the path of duty. They then went to Mysia, and 
assayed to go to Bithynia : but the Spirit suffered 
them not. And passing by Mysia they came down 
to Troas. 

Thus they were held under divine guidance. They 
could not choose their own way nor decide their own 
duty, — they must wait for instructions from the 
great Captain of their salvation ; and ^^the spirit 
suffered them not'' to go, even where they had some- 
times purposed in their hearts that they would go. 
Ever and anon they heard behind them a voice say- 
ing, '' This is the way, walk ye in it ;" and they 
would obey. 

While at Troas they received their ^'marching 
orders," for '' a vision appeared to Paul in the night : 



The Model Ohurch, 21 

There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, 
saying, Come over to Macedonia, and help us V 
And after he had seen the vision, it is said, ^^ Imme- 
diately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assured- 
ly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach 
the Gospel unto them." This was their call to 
preach — the call of God. True, judged by modern 
standards, it was not a very loud call. It was not 
backed by one, two, or ten thousand dollars per year ; 
it would not compare with that which brought 
Baalam to curse Israel, or Demas to forsake Paul, 
^^ having loved this present world.'' Nor would 
such a call find especial favor in the eyes of many 
professed followers of Paul at the present day. 
What ! a call from no church, no bishop, no elder- 
ship, no trustees, no committee ! — a call with no 
salary, stipend, or parsonage ! — a call from one man, 
and he a stranger, with no bag to jingle and no sub- 
scription list to show ! A call in a dream, from one 
man, and he a myth, — a Macedonian heathen per- 
haps, — a call with no proposals, agreements, or pros- 
pects, but simply one agonizing cry wrung from the 
hearts of those who sat in darkness and the shadow 
of death, '' Come over and help us !'' 

Unwelcome and unpromising as such a call might 
now appear to many, it was call enough for the fol- 
lowers of Him who was rich, yet for our sakes be-- 
came poor that we through his poverty might be 
rich. They obeyed the call, and, loosing from Troas, 



22 Thessalonica : 

they came with a straight course to Samothracia, 
and the next day to Neapolis ; and from thence to 
Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of 
Macedonia, and a colony ; and they were in that city 
abiding certain days. 

Piety in Philippi was evidently at a low ebb, but 
there were some there who worshiped God. When 
the Sabbath day arrived, they went out to a Jewish 
Proseuche, or praying place, by the river side ; and 
though the men of the city were too busy or too 
careless to come, a few women were there, and to 
them they proclaimed the Gospel of the grace of 
God. Among the hearers was a lady from Thyatira, 
a seller of purple, which worshiped God, whose 
heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the 
things which were spoken of Paul. And when she 
and her household were baptized, she besought the 
pilgrim preachers of the word of God, saying, " If 
ye have judged me to be faithful unto the Lord, 
come into my house and abide there ;'' and she con- 
strained them to make her house their home. Thus 
God provided for them a place of sustenance — a 
home even in Philippi — and the promise of an hun- 
dred fold even in this life, with persecution, was found 
to be true and faithful 

For Paul and Silas were not destined to escape 
persecution even in Philippi. Satan had a strong 
hold there, and he did not suffer his territory to be 
invaded with impunity. With his accustomed cun- 



The Model Church. 23 

ning he spreaxi his wiles for them. The first trouble 
Paul and Silas encountered was from a certain young 
woman — a Pythoness, or in more modern parlance, 
'^ a Spiritual Medium/' This young lady was of 
repute as a soothsayer, or revealer of wonderful mys- 
teries, equal no doubt to those deep disclosures of the 
number of children your grandmother had, or the 
date of your great uncle's death, which the modern 
trance speaker wholesales on the platform for a 
dime, or which the writing medium retails in her 
private circle for a dollar. As is usual with persons 
of this class, in the illustration of the ease with 
which certain persons are parted from their money, 
considerable wealth was acquired. She "' brought 
her masters much gain by soothsaying.^' 

This young lady followed Paul and his company, 
and — possessed by the same spirit which cried out 
before Jesus, while others doubted his Messiahship, 
" We know thee who thou art, the holy one of Grod" 
— she cried out, " These men are the servants of the 
most High God, which show unto us the way of 
salvation." This was Satan's project, to bring dis- 
credit on the truth of God by setting a lying spirit 
to praise it in the streets. The feelings of Paul, 
while she cried thus day after day in the streets as 
they went out to pray, may have been like those of 
the philosopher Antisthenes, who, when informed that 
a bad man had been praising him, enquired, ^^ What 
foolish thing have I been doing .^" If this thing 



24 Thessalonica : 

was allowed to go on, the conclusion would readily 
be that preachers could not be good men with such 
a bad kind of commendation as that, and even those 
that hdieved the teaching of Paul would be quite 
liable to accept also the teachings of one who praised 
him so openly and so highly. Still her clamor con- 
tinued, until with Paul forbearance ceased to be a 
virtue ; and being grieved at her impudence, and un- 
willing to have their credentials countersigned by 
the devil, he turned and said to the spirit, -^ I com- 
mand thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out 
of her !'' It was done ; and — see the deep-laid, cun- 
ning plot of the evil spirit ! — the speculation was 
ruined ; the masters were enraged ; they caught Paul 
and Silas, drew them unto the market-place unto 
the rulers ; brought them before the magistrates ; 
charged them with troubling the city and with 
teaching them unlawful customs and practices ; and 
they rent their clothes and- commanded them to be 
beaten. ^' And when they had laid many stripes 
upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the 
jailor to keep them safely.'" He being thus charged 
was all too willing to obey the direction, and so he 
pushed them into the inner prison, and made their 
feet fast in the stocks in a most comfortless position, 
where they could neither sit nor stand^ but could 
only lie prostrate on their backs. 

Thus was the design of the evil demon accom- 
plished. What he began in the flatteries of the 



The 3IodA CJmrch. 25 



^^ medium'' he finished off in the fury of the magis- 
trate, the torture of the scourge, the ignominy of 
the prijson, and the torment of the stocks, and the 
suppression of Gospel preaching in Philippi. So 
much for this first attempt of Satan, in which, as is 
often the case, he aimed so high that he not only 
missed his mark but also lost his arrow. 

Paul was bound ; Silas was bound ; but the word 
of God was not bound- — that was still free. But 
how fare our prisoners in the Philippian jail ? The 
jail is a gloomy place ; stocks are an inconvenient 
kind of anklets ; imprisonment has few agreeable 
features ; and the stripes and scourge-cuts on their 
backs add nothing to the comfort of their condi- 
tion. Let us get close by the door of ^^ the inner 
prison'' and hear these two strolling preachers talk. 
Had they been made of such material as some mod- 
ern preachers are, or, for that matter, some ancient 
ones too^ their colloquy might have ran on this 
wise : 

^^ Oh dear ! Paul, what shall I do ? I can't move 
nor stir^ and my back is so sore. Oh ! oh ! Paul, 
canH you help me a little ?" 

" Not I ; I am as deep in the mud as you are in 
the mire. I can't stir a foot." 

" Well, Paul, you have got me into a wretched 
scrape ; if I had suspected thi^, you never would 
have coaxed me out of Antioch. I thought going 
to preach Christ was easy work, respectable business. 



26 Thessalonica : 

and good pay. I wish your ^ man of Macedonia' 
had held his tongue rather than call us over here to 
help them, and then we get put in jail like this V' 

'^ Well, Sila^, I feel about so myself. I never was 
used like thijs in all the time I was a student in Dr. 
Gamaliel's college ; and even while I persecuted the 
church I never got in such trouble as this is. I tell 
you what we had better do. If we ever do get out 
of this hole, we will be more conservative. We will 
bear almost anything from the devil and his ' spirit 
mediums' rather than have a fuss." 

^^ Yes, yes, Paul, and I think I shall make tracks 
for Antioch as soon as possible ; and if they will hire 
me there to preach /ot' tJiem^ make me bishop of the 
church, and give me a good salary, I will stay with 
them and be a Christian minister ; but if not, ^ I am 
done with missionarying on my own hook ;'^* and I 
shall turn lawyer, or doctor, or marry a rich, ungodly 
wife, go into speculation, or do anything that will 
pay ; but as for preaching for nothing all day and 
sleeping in jail at night, I won't do it." 

'^ Well, Silas, my back does ache terribly, and I 
believe you 're about half right I know I ought to 
plunge right into the word of God and preach what 
I find there, no matter what men say. But • I tell 
you before God, and there is no one else that hears 
me, / durst not do it;''\ and I have about concluded 

* Words of the Eev. Mr. M , to the writer, while looking for a job 

and a salary. 

t Words of the Rev. Mr. W— — , to the writer, when he exhorted him to 
preach the word. 



'Die Modd Church. 27 

to quit this business of preaching, and go back to the 
old hive ; and I have no doubt I will make a very 
resrpectable drone there, and so get what honey I 
want in any case/' 

Such might have been — such I suspect would 
have been — the tenor of the conversation of many per- 
sons who nevertheless suppose that their religion is 
the same with that of Paul and Silas, and who look 
for a fat living in this life, and a crown of glory as 
soon as they die ; thus exceeding in their anticipa- 
tions the apostles, who were willing to suffer priva- 
tions here and to wait for their reward until '' the 
chief Shepherd shall appear'^ to gather all his flock. 

But did Paul and Silas talk Uie this ? Not a 
word of it — .not a word of it ! I have been think- 
ing of a different class of men entirely. Yet the 
hours must have dragged wearily, and they were not 
insensible to pain. They were afflicted ; and if any 
are afflicted let them pray. Hush ! — 't is the voice 
of prayer. Silas is praying and Paul is agreeing 
with his prayer and uttering hi^ Amen at the close 
of his petition. And now Paul is praying, — not as 
he prayed when a Pharisee, with his '' God, I 
thank thee," — nor yet as he prayed at Damascus 
while the scales were on his eyes, — but with strong 
and earnest cries and tears, until, beneath the 
influence of the promised Comforter and the 
mighty presence of him who said, '' Lo, 1 am 
with you alway,'' the inner prison seemg like the 



28 Thessalonica : 

holy plaoe within the veil, and the Philippian jail, 
before so vile and polluted, seems as holy as was 
Bethel of old, when the hushed voice of Jacob said, 
'^ Surely God is in this place." 

But list ! there comes a song — the song of those 
who ^' in all these things are more than conquerors/' 
who are " exceeding joyful in all their tribula- 
tions/' and who always are made ^Ho triumph 
through Christ." How it swells and rolls out 
through the grated windows and along the echoing 
corridors, bursting from exulting hearts and rising 
in joyous and accepted melody to the throne of the 
Majesty on high. And 'the prisoners heard them 
pray and sing, and just as the strain of melody 
rolled out in triumph like a trumpet call upon the 
silence of midnight, God's earthquake thundered by, 
heaving the ground with mighty throes, jostling 
the prison's deep foundation stones, slamming and 
opening the doors as if by angel hands, rending off 
every prisoner's bands, setting the apostles free, and 
showing that though one demon could get them 
into the inner prison through human agency, a 
legion could not keep them there, when God by 
his angels chose to set them free. 

The keeper of the prison awaked. He had been 
too busy with his locks and his dungeons, his stocks 
and his fetters, to go out to the place of prayer, or 
to listen to the preaching of the strolling tent-makers. 
He was too hard to think of their Gospel when he 



The Model Church. 29 

pushed them into the dungeon and fastened their 
feet in the stocks. He perhaps slept soundly through 
the prayer, and rested easy under the singing. But 
God's earthquake started him up ; and when he 
heard the doors rattle and the fetters snap, he 
thought that his prisoners were escaped, and his 
life would be forfeited; and so he drew a sword to 
kill himself. So near the way of life, with the mes- 
sengers of salvation within his call, Satan's last 
effort is to persuade him to kill himself. But be- 
hold the grace of Christ ! Paul was in time, and 
he shouted through the darkness, in the ears of the 
terrified man, " Do thyself no harm, for we are all 
here/' It was a word in season, and he who would 
have been a suicide was saved to be a saint.* It 
was now his turn to feel and pray ; and calling for 
a light he sprang in, and came trembling, and fell 
down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, 
and said, not, " Ye vagabonds ! Ye Jews!" but, 
'^ Sirs, (or Lords,) what must I do to be saved ?" 
Paul was in his element now. The question wa« 
brief and pointed ; the answer was simple and direct, 

* I may here take occasion to relate the following incident. A lady of 

iny acquaintance, Mrs. A , who was not a stranger to the mercy of God, 

through severe trials of a most harassing nature, was led to contemplate 
self destruction. Goaded almost to madness, her purpose was formed ; and 
with her to purpose was to execute. The hour for its accomplishment had 
nearly come, and her will remained unchanged, when a Christian friend, 
who knew nothing of her state of feeling, came, and said to her, " Sister 

A , go up stairs and pray." The message was as from the Lord ; and 

though he knew not why he brought it, she found at the throne of Grace 
comfort, that held her back from death, and preserved her to usefulness in 
the work of God. 



30 Thessalonica : 

^' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt 
be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto 
him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in 
his house/' The Lord opened and softened the jail- 
or's heart. First he cared for the stripes and whip- 
cuts on their backs, and washed the blood that was 
oozing from them with a hand as gentle as that of 
a mother. Then he was baptized, he and all his ; 
for the word spoken '' to all who were in his house'' 
had taken effect, and they were baptized straight- 
way. Returning from the baptism, he brought 
them into his house again, set food before them, and 
^^ rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.^' So 
much had Satan overshot his mark, when he sent 
the apostles to jail. Truly, though in this world 
Satan sometimes rules, Grod overrules to his own 
glory. Paul was a fisher of men, and when the devil 
put him in jail, he fished for the jailor, and caught 
him too, him and " all his house." 

The night sped by — the morning dawned ; but ere 
it came the work was done in the jailor's house and 
heart, which shall abide to eternal glory. It was 
prison work, like Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, or 
like De Sacy's version of the Bible, and it was done 
there because it was the best and perhaps the only 
place to do it. But when morning came the magis- 
trates, having heard the earthquake, or supposing^ 
perhaps, that they were in a rash and ugly scrape, 



The Model Church, 31 

gent the sergeant, saying, '^ Let those men go."* 
The keeper, doubtless glad of the tidings, came and 
told Paul : ^^ The magistrates have sent to let you 
go : now, therefore, depart and go in peace/^ But 
Paul was in no hurry. He was not disposed to run 
sneak, or skulk. He wished no shifting of the re- 
sponsibility, and he declared that he would not thus 
leave privately. No, said he, ^' They have beaten 
us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have 
cast us into prison ; and now do they thrust us out 
privily ? Nay, verily ; but let them come them- 
selves and fetch us out.'' The sergeants carried 
back the message of the independent tent-maker to 
the magistrates. ^' And they feared when they 
heard they were Romans.'' It was their turn to 
tremble at the consequences which might attend the 
violation of that security which Rome cast about 
every citizen of her realm. '^ And they came and 
besought them, and brought them out, and desired 
them to depart out of the city." But they were in 
no haste. They came out of the prison, went to the 
house of Lydia, saw the brethren, comforted them, 

* Why the magistrates should have sent an order to dismiss the apostles, 
whom they had so barbarously used the preceding evening, we cannot itell, 
unless we receive the reading of the Codex, Bezae, as genuine, viz: ' And 
when it was day the magistrates came together into the court, and remem- 
bering the earthquake that had happened, they were afraid, and they sent 
the sergeants,' &c. The Itala version of the same MS. has the same read- 
ing ; so also has the margin of the later Syriac. If this MS. be correct, the 
cause of the dismissal of the apostles is at once evident. Whether this read- 
ing be genuine or not, it is likely it gives the true cause of the magistrates' 
conduct." — Dr. A. Clarke's note on Acts xvi. 35. 



32 Thessalonica : 

and then departed on their journey well pleased, 1 
doubt not, with their night's experience in the Phi- 
lippian jail. 

The church gathered at this place was in many 
respects a most noble one. Paul's epistle to them 
from his bonds in Eome shows that their piety was 
far above the ordinary stamp. They knew what 
afflictions were, and the jailor could understand 
something of the sufferings of '' Paul the aged," " a 
prisoner of Jesus Christ/' bound with chains '' for 
the hope of Israel ;" and when Paul went forth from 
Philippi to preach the Grospel in the regions be- 
yond, they supplied his wants and sent '^ once and 
again" to his necessity ; and when he was a prisoner 
of Christ at Rome they made a contribution for him, 
and sent to him such a generous supply by the hand 
of Epaphroditus their minister, that it elicited as an 
expression of grateful love the Epistle to the Philip- 
pians, one of the most tender and touching letters 
which Paul ever penned. 

Leaving Philippi, our missionaries proceeded 
south, through Amphipolis and ApoUonia, and 
then westward to Thessalonica, which lay some 
eighty miles southwest of Philippi, and which is 
now called Salonichi, situated upon a gulf which 
now bears the same name. Here was their next 
field of labor — one of the largest cities of Macedonia. 
A Jewish synagogue was there, and the Gospel which 
came '^ to the Jew first and also to the Greek/' was 



The Model Church, 33 

there first proclaimed to the listening congregation. 
And these were the preachers, men " red from the 
lash and recent from the chain/^ who, without gain- 
ing one jot of conservatism or worldly wisdom from 
the experiences of Philippi, came here to '' turn 
the world upside down '' and publish God's grace to 
the perishing and the lost. We shall see the re* 
suits of their labor as we progress in our investiga- 
tions. 



34 Thessalonica 



CHAPTER III. 

The Missionaries at Work. Men of Mark. They Preached tho 
Word. They were, I. Persecuted and Despised. II. Bold and 
Out-spoken. III. Independent Men. They could Earn a Living. 
IV. Faithful and Honest. V. Gentle and Christ-like. VI. Ready 
to Preach. '' The Sword of the Spirit." '' AVith the Holy Ghost." 
VII. Practical Teachers. The Sincere Milk of the Word. Sim- 
plicity. VIII. United. No Cause for Quarrels. One ReUgion, 
One Lord. One Father. One Faith. One Leader, Ministers of 
the New Covenant. 

Having sketched the antecedents of these travel- 
ing missionaries, we come to consider them at their 
work in Thessalonica. They were men of marked 
character, and they would make their mark any- 
where. They were apostolic missionaries. 5ow did 
they proceed ? 

They began with preaching the word of Grod. 
Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them in the 
synagogue, and three Sabbath days reasoned with 
them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging 
that the Christ must needs have suffered and risen 
again from the dead ; and that this Jesus, whom, 
said he, I preach to you, " is the Christ/' He began 
with the Scriptures — he unfolded the prophecies ; 
he proved that the Messiah must needs die^ and that 
J. sus of Nazareth had thus died. Nor did he leave 



The Model Church. 35 

him in the grave as if his death was the completion 
of his mighty work Nay, verily; he not only preach- 
ed this, but far more than this. It was Christ that 
" died, yea, rather, that is risen again,'' that was the 
theme of apostolic proclamation. So he declared 
that this Jesus, the crucified and risen, was indeed 
the very Anointed of the Most High. Nor did his 
theme end with the resurrection of Christ, — surely 
it had reference to his regal triumph and glory, else 
they had not been accused of preaching that '' there 
was another King, one Jesus/' Their preaching 
was evidently noteworthy in several respects. Let 
us study them for a time in their character as 
preachers. 

I. They were tried, persecuted, ajfflicted, and des- 
pised men. We have seen this already. They were 
neither rich nor honorable ; and though Paul, if he 
had continued a persecutor, might perhaps in time 
have appended the title of Eabbi to his name, as zeal- 
ous sectarians now sometimes become D.Ds., yet those 
things which were*gain to him, he counted loss for 
Christ's sake. So being crucified to the world — dead 
indeed unto sin, buried with Christ by baptism into 
death, they yielded themselves unto Grod as those 
that are alive from the dead. They had received such 
lessons in the school of persecution that there was 
little prospect of their being surprised with any new 
trial, and hence they engaged in their work with a 
dauntless zeal and a hopeful diligence. 



36 Thessalonica : 

II. They were bold and out-spoken preachers. — 
Foes or friends, flatteries or frowns were alike power- 
less to aifect their course. Subscription papers did 
not gag them, nor did they stand in fear of pew- 
rents. Salaries softened not their strength and zeal, 
nor did luxury and ease cushion over their angles 
and salient points. As for scoffs and sneers, these 
were of no account at all. Nor could the memory oi 
past persecutions, or even the smarting of the im- 
healed stripes upon their backs, cause them to veil 
or diminish the light which they had to exhibit be- 
fore the world. As fearless as if they never had 
been in jail — as bold as if the scourge had nevei 
drank their blood — they stood up to preach the same 
Gospel that had brought persecution upon them so 
often before. Thus do Paul and Silas themselves 
allude to it: ^' For yourselves, brethren, know our 
entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain : but 
even after that we had suffered before, and were 
shamefully entreated as ye know, at Philippi, we 
were bold in our God to speak utlto you the Gospel 
of God, with much contention (or amidst a great 
combat).'' They knew whom they believed, they un- 
derstood what they believed, and they w^ere not the 
men to cower or slink away from consequences when 
their commission and command bore the seal and 
token of the Lord's approval. 

III. They were independent men. They had backs 
and bones in them. They stood up straight for God 



The Model Church. 97 

and truth and right. They did not go begging for 
men to employ them, or pay them for work which 
God had bidden them to do. They did not need to 
sell their consciences for a piece of bread. They 
were not so extravagant and luxurious that they 
could not be supported except by calling in the 
proud, the wicked, and the rich, who would only help 
on condition that they should have the softest cushion 
in the highest seat in the most magnificent church, 
and that the preacher should stand in his mahogany 
pulpit, dealing out white-pine sermons, or firing 
blank cartridges so gently that they were warranted 
not to disturb any persons w*hile enjoying their cus- 
tomary nap. 

The education of Paul had not disqualified him 
for manual labor. If he was too independent to beg 
he was not too lazy to dig. Tent-making was an 
honest trade, and Paul had no dislike for work. So, 
in the absence of other engagements, they turned to 
the daily toil of the hard-handed laborer, and ate 
their bread in the sweat of their faces, as God had 
appointed ; and one good consequence of this was, 
that, unlike the smooth-shaven, white-cravated, 
flabby-muscled preachers of the present day, who 
make a short journey from the college to the coffin, 
they did not break down with bronchitis, laryngitis^ 
minister's sore throat, dyspepsia, or any of those gen- 
tlemanly, clerical complaints which can only be cured 
by holding plow, or sawing wood, or digging in the 



38 Thessalonica : 

soil to earn one's bread, or by one's taking — '^ a voy- 
age to Europe for his health!'' 

No man could accuse these preachers of interested 
motives. No one could taunt them with their idle- 
ness, or twit them of their pride. The man who 
hired Paul to make him a tent was not cheated in 
his bargain, I warrant you ; and he who invited the 
preachers home to his house found that they were far 
from being drones. Paul and Silas and Timothy 
could appeal to their own recollection, saying, '^ Ye 
remember, brethren, our labor and travail : for, labor- 
ing night and day, because we would not be charge- 
able to any of you, we preached unto you theGrospel 
of Grod/' '^ For yourselves know how ye ought to 
follow us : for we behaved not ourselves disorderly 
among you ; neither did we eat any man's bread for 
naitght ; but wrought with lahor and travail night 
and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of 
you : not because we have not power, but to make 
ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. For 
when we were with you, this we commanded you, 
that if any would not work, neither should he eat/' 
Occupying such an exalted and independent position 
as this, it is easy to see that their words and example 
would have a force and authority among the people 
where they labored, such as never would be the case 
if they had been worldly-minded and covetous idlers. 
Pity the world has not more such examples to-day ! 
They are needed as much among the lazy, languid, 



The Model Church, 39 

loating aristocracy, the plundering, idle, office-seeking 
hirelings, the hosts who sell themselves, soul and 
body, for luxury and ease, as ever they were in the 
idlest days in the history of Thessalonica, 0, for an 
apostolic ministry, to make work honorable, and to 
shame the drones that infest the public hive. 

IV. They were faithful and God-fearing ministers. 
They were neither hypocrites, fools or knaves. They 
were honest in soul. And to this deep-rooted hon- 
esty of nature much of their success was due under 
God. Many a good cause has been ruined in the 
hands of wily, crafty, pelf-loving rogues, who, per- 
haps, with a small desire to serve the Lord, coupled 
a much larger desire to serve themselves ; who were 
anxious to convert men, but more anxious to get in 
debt and trade horses ! And their followers, who in 
honestv of soul have started in their lead, have been 
shamed and disheartened at the disastrous issue of 
all their zeal and confidence, and have sunk down in 
despondency at last. No such results followed the 
labors of these ancient .servants of the Most High. 
The name of God was not blasphemed among the 
Gentiles on their account, nor were the flock at Thes- 
salonica left to apologize for and cover up their ini- 
quities, nor bewail in secret places their bad exam- 
ples, evil courses, and outbreaking sins. 

Thus they write : '' For our exhortation was not 
of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile : but as we 
were allowed of God to be put in trust with the 



40 Thessalonica : 

Grospe], so we speak ; not as pleasing men, but God, 
which trieth our hearts. For neither at any time 
used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of 
covetousness, God is witness/' 

Such ministers as these might well hope for suc- 
cesses in their work. God was with them, and 
their integrity was unimpeachable. Men would be 
convinced of their sincerity, and the candid and the 
honest would believe and be saved. '' Ye are wit- 
nesses, and God also, how holily and justly and un- 
blameably we behaved ourselves among you who 
believe.'' Not only were they holy and blameless 
before the outside world, but also among the be- 
lievers who were witnesses of their private life and 
deportment. They were without rebuke and above 
suspicion in their godly and blameless lives. 

V. They were gentle and Christ-like in their 
ministrations. It is diflficult to find gentleness and 
energy, meekness and power conjoined. There are 
plenty of energetic people, but they tear and rend, 
they break and crush ; they stride along so pomp- 
ously and furiously, that they come like '^hailstones 
mingled with fire," rather than like the dews of 
heaven and the gentle '^ showers upon the mown 
grass." And there are meek, gentle, tender-hearted 
people in abundance — those who have no energy, 
life, zeal, or power ; who purpose nothing, attempt 
nothing, and accomplish nothing ; who are mere 
cyphers in the great sum of life ; men of straw upon 



The Model Church. 41 

the field of battle, who do no hurt because they do 
nothing at all. 

Such wa« not the character of the men to whom 
the man of Macedonia said, '' Come over and help 
us/' Little help would he have derived from such 
persons. But these men combined the lion's bold- 
ness with the harmlessness of doves. They had 
united in themselves these dissimilar characteristics. 
They imitated their Master, who, while he shall not 
break a bruised reed, yet shall " not fail nor be dis- 
couraged till he have set judgment in the earth, 
and the isles shall wait for his Law.'' 

Following him, Paul and his compeers were bold 
in God to preach the Gospel in a great contest, or 
combat ; and yet they were very gentle and patient 
amid it all. Thus they remind the Thessalonian 
disciples of their conduct, saying, '^ We were gentle 
among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. 
So being affectionately desirous of you, we were 
willing to have imparted unto you, not the Gospel 
of God only, but also our own souls, because ye 
were dear iinto us." ^' As ye know how we exhorted, 
and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a 
father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy 
of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom 
and glory." 

VI. The manner of their preaching was as marked 
and characteristic as any other act of their lives. 
Paul did not, [ presume, stand upon Mars -hill and 



/ 



42 Thessalonica : 

fumble in his pocket for a musty manuscript, or 
wait for his lost carpet-bag to find a sermon/-^ with- 
out which he would have been unable to proclaim 
to the polished Athenians the glory of the Unknown 
God. Nor were their discourses such frail and 
gaudy word-fabrics that the disarrangement of the 
slightest expression would ruin or mar the whole. 
No ; they believed, and preached from a full and 
earnest heart ; and out of the heart's abundance 
the mouth spoke the love and grace of Christ to 
men. 

Nor were these preachers like many in modern 
times who deny the presence and power of the Holy 
Spirit of God ; who make Christianity to consist in 
believing their theories and being baptized by them 
in water ; who know and admit no Spirit of God or 
Christ except a '' Christian disposition/' or a some- 
what peaceable temper of mind ; who ridicule the 
idea that men are to be aided by the Holy Ghost in 
the ministry of the word ; who say there is no Holy 

* " I am acquainted with a person who, not long ago, told me that he 
was getting his livelihood by writing twelve sermons weekly, for clerical 
correspondents. . . I counted, lately, 150 volumes of second-rate and third- 
rate sermons in a clergyman's library, containing altogether about 300 
volumes. And the following advertisements appeared lately in ' The 
Record.^ 

" ' Manuscript Sermons. — The minister of a large congregation in Lon- 
don is willing to supply another clergyman from his stock of original ser- 
mons, or to compose sermons on given texts and occasions. Correspondence 
con5dential. For a specimen sermon and terms, address,' etc. 

" ' Manuscript Sermons.— To clergymen, who, from ill health, or other 
causes, are prevented from composing their own sermons, the advertiser 
offers his services on moderate terms. Original sermons composed on any 
given text of Scripture,' " etc. — Essay on The Union of Church and State, 
by B. W. Noel, M. A., p. 504. 3d edition. 



Tlie Model Church, 43 

Spirit but the words of Scripture ; who argue rather 
than convince ; who dispute rather than pray ; who 
preach dry discourses about drier theories ; and 
who, though they compass land and sea to make one 
proselyte, nevertheless do not improve him in faith, 
or temper, or deportment. 

Preaching, with them, was not the mere rehears- 
ing of words. They preached '' the word'' as fully 
and clearly and truly as any persons ever did ; but 
the bare words are ever insuflScient. The word is a 
SWORD ; but a sword has need of a hand to wield it ; 
and that sword is " the sword of the Spirit which is 
the word of God/' And the man who vainly thinks 
that he is of himself able to wield that sword with- 
out the Spii^ifs energy, will find that he is as un- 
equal to the task as a beardless boy would be to 
wield an old Scotch claymore amid the gory har- 
veetfi of the battle field. True, without the Holy 
Spirit, a man may read Scripture and quote it and 
mangle it and mar it, as we have often seen ; but 
never does its power come forth for the salvation of 
those that hear, as when men preach the Gospel 
*^ with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven/' 

The preaching of Paul and his companions at 
Thessalonica was of this character. Of it they say, 
"Our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but 
also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much 
assurance ; as ye know what manner of men we were 
among you for your sake. And ye became followers 



44 Tkessalonica : 

of us and of the Lord, having received the word in 
much aflliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." 

This was the manner of their preaching — in word, 
and not in word only^ but also in power; in the 
deep energy of the divine blessing, which made their 
Gospel the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believeth. It was ' in word and in power, and 
in the Holy Ghost; for they worshiped the Father 
" in spirit and in truth '/' they prayed '^ in the Holy 
Ghost ;" they sang " with the spirit and with the 
understanding also ;" and they '^ preached the Gos- 
pel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven/' 
Thus anointed and qualified for the work, how could 
their Gospel fail to be '' with much assurance ?'' 
Wavering, instability, uncertainty, and doubt en- 
tered not into their nature or the constitution of 
their religious life. They believed facts, preached 
truths^ and hoped for glorious certainties. Their 
love was rooted and grounded ; their faith was on 
the rock ; their anchor — Hope — was cast within the 
veil. They were crucified with Christ. Christ 
lived in them, the hope of glory. They saw the 
invisible ; they grasped the unseen. Their honors, 
crowns, and treasures were in heaven ; they counted 
not their lives dear unto them. They had sentence 
of death in themselves, that they should not trust in 
themselves but in God that raiseth the dead. Well 
might they speak with much assurance, even with 
'^ the full assurance of faith V 



The Model Church, 45 

VII. The preaching under which the Thessalonian 
church was gathered was eminently practical in its 
doctrines. It was not a mist of mere abstractions, 
but it was a living mass of facts and truths applied 
to the heart, the conscience, and the life. A per- 
nicious and foolish idea has obtained in many minds 
concerning '^ doctrinal '' and '^practical'' preaching. 
When a man splits hairs, wades among phantoms, 
dives into mysteries (always fetching up mud), and 
preaches the people to sleep with a long discourse 
that would never save a man if every jot and tittle 
of it were obeyed, that is called '' doctrinal jor each- 
ing," And when another man ignores the state- 
ments of Scripture, the facts of revelation, and the 
truth of God, and launches out into ranting rhapsody 
and bombastic declamation, that is termed '^ practi- 
cal preaching.'' 

In Scripture we find no such distinction. " Doc- 
trine " is teaching, or instruction ; and what is in- 
struction for, but ioT practice ? Jesus taught; but 
he taught men how to live, and what they should 
live for. His preaching was all of it doctrinal ; that 
is, Christ taught men in every sermon. And it was 
all of it practical; for every parable, instruction, 
and exhortation came home to the hearer's con- 
sciousness and life. This dividing what God hath 
joined together, — this giving men theory one year 
QiXidi practice the next, — this analyzing '' the sincere 
milk of the word," and doling out to Christ's •' new- 



46 Thessalonica : 

born babes" now casein, then water, then butter, 
then sugar, then buttermilk, then whey, then bonny- 
clabber, and finally Dutch cheese, instead of feeding 
them the '^ milk'' as Grod has appointed, — never 
made very healthy children in the Lord's family. 
They " desire the sincere milk of the word that they 
may grow thereby,'^ and they must have it, or grow 
puny and feeble and frail. 

Paul had no partition in his Gospel magazine, on 
one side of which he put bones, skeletons, systems, 
theories, and bodies of divinity, all jointed and wired 
together, dry and ghastly as grim death itself; 
while on the other side he had a mass of pulp and 
jelly — a conglomerate of muscle, tissue, fat, and 
fragments, which had been picked from the '^ dry 
bones/' No ; andif Ke had found them thus sepa- 
rated, he would have longed to make " of the twain 
one new man," clothed with sinews and flesh and 
skin, and he would have called for God's Spirit to 
breathe upon him that he might live and stand upon 
his feet. 

Paul preached plain, simple truth, practical at 
every point, and doctrinal from beginning to end.* 

* Dr. Erasmus Alberus, when departing from Brandenburg, asked Luther 
bow he ought to preach before the Elector. Luther replied, " Your sermons 
should be addressed, not to princes and nobles, but to the rude, uncultiva- 
ted commonalty. If in my discourses I were to be thinking about Melanc- 
thon and the other doctors, I should do no good at all : but I preach in 
plain language to the plain, unlearned people, and that pleases all parties. 
If I know the Q-reek, Hebrew, and Latin languages, I reserve them for our 
learned meetings, where they are of use ; for at these we deal in such sub- 
tleties and such profundities that God himself, I wot, must marvel at us!" 
— Tischreden, p. 184. Michelet's Life of Luttter. Bogue's cd , p 293 



The Model Church. 47 

Thus he exhorts them, '^ Furthermore then we be- 
seech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord 
Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought 
to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more 
and more. For ye know what commandments we 
gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of 
""God, your holiness, that ye should abstain from for- 
nication : that every one of you should know how 
to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor ; not 
in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles 
which know not God : that no man go beyond and 
overreach his brother in the matter ; because that 
the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we have also 
forewarned you and testified. For God hath not 
called us to uncleanness but to holiness." "Now 
we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every 
brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the 
tradition which he received of us." " See that none 
render evil for evil unto any man ; but ever follow 
the good, both among yourselves and to all men. 
Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very 
God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God 
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ/' 
Such were the practical instructions which their 
preaching had enforced, and which their Epistles to 
the Thessalonians reiterate. 

VII L The preachers who preached at Thessa- 



48 TTiessalonica : 

lonica were united. One did not build up and ano- 
ther tear down after him. One did not assert and 
the others question and contradict. Nor did Paul 
and Silas and Tinaothy each set themselves to draw 
off a party, a separate clique, and so establish three 
churches, namely, '^ Paulites,'' '^ Silasians'' and 
'* Timotheans/' They were as a unit. Each of the 
Epistles to the Thessalonians is written by the three 
jointly and severally. They unite and agree in all 
its teachings and representations. Their hearts 
were united, and no one of them preached ^^ another 
Gospel.'' Paul and Silas were true yoke-fellows, 
and Timothy was as an " own son after the common 
faith.'' He was the younger and the less experien- 
ced of the two ; but, having known the Scriptures 
from a child, he was now learning the practice of 
Christian labor, with Paul for his instructor and the 
wide heathen world as his school in which he was to 
be taught. And this practice made him as useful a 
preacher as those who in these days are '^from a 
child " taught Homer and Virgil and the profane 
and lascivious relics of heathen literature, mythology, 
and philosophy, and who then spend their early man- 
hood in forgetting their mother tongue so that the 
common people cannot understand them, and in 
learning systems of theology and the lore of musty 
fathers, instead of the truths of God in the words in 
which they were written ; while they might well be 
toilins: like Timothv with Paul and Silas, ^^in the 



The Model Church. 49 

regions bejond," and there learning the practical 
duties of the Christian niinistry and a sympathy 
with the common life of ignorant and erring human- 
ity which the cloistered student hardly ever gains. 

There were good reasons why these three preachers 
should agree. First : They all followed one leader, 
Christ ; not Luther^ Calvin, Arminius, or Wesley, 
but Jesus Christ himself, the Anointed of God. If 
each of them had been bound to apologize for and 
defend the errors, faults, mistakes, failings, and foi- 
bles of some learned leader, doctor, or reformer in 
the church, they would have been at loggerheads 
half the time. 

Second : They all belonged to one church — ^^ the 
church of the living Grod,'' which he had purchased 
with his own blood ; or rather they all belonged to 
Christy whose servants they were. If Paul had 
been a Lutheran, or a Presbyterian ; if Silas had 
been a Catholic or an Episcopalian ; if Timothy 
had been a Methodist, a Universalist, a Baptist, or 
an Adventist ; there might have been endless quar- 
rels and unnumbered disputes. But they were 
none of these. They were all one in Christ Jesus. 

Third : They belonged to one ecclesiastical 
connection. If you had asked them what "^ con- 
ference" they were members of, they would have 
looked puzzled. If you had enquired about their 
'^ presbytery,'' ^' parish,'' or " diocese,'' they might 
have told you it was '* the regions beyond." If you 



50 Tliessalonica : 

had wished to learn its extent, they might have re- 
ferred to the commission, '^ Go ye into all the 
world.'' And if you had demanded of them their 
credentials, it is possible that Paul would have 
dropped his tent-work and exclaimed, '' Need we, 
as some others, epistles of commendation to you^ or 
letters of commendation from you ? '' His epistle 
of commendation was his work and his holy life^ 
known and read of all men. And in this these 
preachers were all as one. 

Fourth : They had all one fountain of truth. 
" The Apostles' Creed " was not born. Saint Atha- 
nasius had not sent forth his spider's web for the 
entrapping of weak consciences. The Council of 
Nice had not thundered anathemas, nor had a long 
array of Papal bulls breathed out ^^ threatenings and 
slaughter,'' and followed Peter in his cursing and 
denying his Lord, if they did in nothing else. The 
'' Thirty-nine Articles," the Protestant '^ Confes- 
sions," and the Catholic manifestoes were all un- 
known. Augsburg had not spoken, nor had West- 
minster responded. Neither Edinburgh, Zurich, 
Dublin, or Saybrook had spread abroad their iron 
beds and measured and gauged men by them. The 
difference '' 'twixt tweedle dum and tweedle dee " 
was not yet understood ; and the ^^mint and anise'' 
of modern theology was sunk below soundings in 
view of the awful majesty of ^'justice, mercy, and 
the fear of God," '^ righteousness, temperance, and 



The Model Ohurch, 51 

a judgment to come V Consequently these were 
men of one book-. They did not need to enquire 
what is orthodoxy, but, " What is truth ?" They 
did not need to ask what does Augustine, Jerome, 
Calvin, Luther, or Wesley say, but. What saith the 
word of the Lord ? Thus they had an immense ad- 
vantage. They narrowed the grounds of controversy ; 
for when you take names, leaders, and creeds away 
from Christians, what is there left, even now, that 
they dispute about ? 

Fifth : They were not left to disagree about mere 
philosophic theories. They had not taken Socrates, 
Pythagoras, or Zoroaster as their instructors. If 
one had been full of the sublime nonsense of Plato, 
and another had baptized his soul in the theories of 
Aristotle, while another still had studied wisdom 
amid the palm-shaded temples of the east, then 
they might have quarreled as much as the disciples 
of those philosophers have done in later times. If 
they had mixed Platonism with the Gospel, they 
mio-ht have had as many controversies as Origen 
and all his compeers and successors had. If they 
had gone into strifes about words, to no profit, and 
foolish questionings, and ''perverse disputings of 
men of corrupt minds, supposing that gain is godli- 
ness ;" if they had given heed to Jewish fables ; if 
they had yielded to the " oppositions of science, 
falsely so called ;'' if they had been spoiled through 
'' philosophy and vain deceit, after the rudiments of 



52 Thessalonica : 

the world and not after Christ ;'' then there might 
have been as much disputatious wrangling at Thes- 
salonica, as there ever was at any modern seat of 
religion. But then farewell to simple-hearted faith, 
to holy activity, to Christian zeal^ and to the power 
of divine grace manifested under the preaching of 
the word of the Lord. 

These preachers had been taught in the school of 
Christ. Their business was to "preach the word." 
They had no human leaders to fight for ; no paltry 
sectarian interests to sustain by forbidding any one 
to cast out demons who followed not with them ; 
no vast array of terrible wheels, and machinery, and 
ecclesiastical gearing to be controlled, and engi- 
neered, and repaired when shattered by collision ; 
no creeds to quarrel about, and no theories to befog 
themselves with ; no commentators to pervert the 
truth ; no councils to bind their consciences ; and 
no lords over God's heritage to rule over and oppress 
and mislead them from the right path. 

Such were the men who, standing in the counsel 
of Grod, and preaching " not in word only, but also 
in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much as- 
surance,'' could say to their hearers, "• He, therefore, 
that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God^ who 
hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit,'''' By that 
Spirit God set his seal to His word, which they de- 
clared, and good was accomplished in the name of 
Jesus Christ. 



The Model Ghurch, 53 

Behold the men ! Such were the faithful preach- 
ers who gathered this '^ model church/' Preaching 
where the name of Christ was unknown ; laboring 
with their hands for temporal sustenance ; sustained 
in part, perhaps, by the noble-hearted ones at Phi- 
lippi, who, if they could not have the privilege of 
hearing them preach, could rejoice in the opportu- 
nity of sending " once and again'' unto their neces- 
sities ; unlike many a modern church who will 
bribe a man liberally to stay constantly and preach 
for them, they, meanwhile, living careless and 
worldly, but who would hardly give him a dime to 
aid him in preaching the word of God '^in the re- 
gions beyond,'' among the poor, the outcast, and 
the wretched of the earth ; — thus circumstanced and 
sustained they '' fought the good fight," were able 
ministers of the New Covenant, and their labor was 
^^ not in vain in the Lord." We are now to observe 
the results of their endeavors in the work of God at 
Thessalonica. 



54 Thessalonica : 



CHAPTER IV. 

Results. Success not Universal. The Gospel Not a Failure, 
Some Believed. Persecutions. A Mob. Accusations. Treason. 
The Missionaries Depart. What Results do they Leave Behind 1 
A Candle Lighted Never to be Extinguished. Thirty Churches 
now in Thessalonica. 

The general statement as to the results of apos- 
tolic labor in Thessalonica may be comprehended in 
the single w or A.— success. 

It was not, it is true, the success that attends 
npon error, which runs like water down the throats 
of the wide-mouthed rabble, who believe lies because 
they love sin, and who reject truth because they hate 
restraint and righteousness. It was not the success 
of some sensation preacher who commences his 
" effort " setting his mark as the conversion of just 
'^ one hundred souls," — and which may properly 
have reckoned, as an ultimate adjunctive result, 
the presence of about ninety-five bacJcsUders in the 
vicinity within six or twelve months, who are by 
and bye ready for the coming of another sensation 
man, who will call them in and count them over, 
and publish them in the newspaper again, as the 
fruits of ^^ our revival.'' 



The Model Church. . 55 

No, Paul and Silas and Timothy did not deal in 
the rant and rhapsody which snch men engage in. 
They were neither drones, dullards, nor formalists ; 
but their preaching had in it something more potent 
than the sudden impulses of terror, and more per- 
manent in its effects than the mere maornetism of 
oratory. 

Their success was not that universal credence 
which so many seem to anticipate for the Gospel in 
the earth, and without which it is rashly said, '' The 
Gospel will be a failure.'' For, if the Gospel will 
be a failure provided it does not convert the world 
hereafter^ is it not a failure now because it has not 
converted the world already ? If each Christian, 
from the days of the first '' five thousand '' which 
believed in Jerusalem, had converted a single sinner 
every year, and if they had repeated their work an- 
nually, every person on the globe would have been 
converted within less than eighteen years from the 
day of Pentecost. But eighteen centuries have not 
made a twentieth of the race professors of personal 
faith in Jesus Christ. Has the Gospel, then, proved 
a failure ? By no means. It has accomplished the 
purpose for which it was preached, and by it '' God 
did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people 
for his name." '^ Known unto God are all his works 
from the beginning of the world ;'' and men '* who 
are of yesterday '' should pause before they pass sen- 
tence upon the work and purposes of God. 



56 Thessalonica ; 

The Gospel is not a failure, though neither the 
world nor any part of it is converted to Christ. For, 
aft=er all the labor of centuries, no man can point to a 
country, a nation, a people, a tribe, a city, or even a 
town, village, or hamlet of any size, and say, '• These 
people here are all true Christians/' No, the har- 
vest is not to be estimated by the stony ground, the 
thorny ground, or the w^ayside aspect thereof; nor 
yet by the little that seems flourishing on the ground 
that brings forth fruit. It is to be estiinate-d by its 
final results, by the many sheaves that shall at last 
stand thick on the heavenly hills ; by the final in- 
gathering to the glorious garner of Grod ; by the 
triumphant jubilation of the harvest-home, when 
countless reapers shall return with joy, '"' bringing 
their sheaves with them/' 

Paul and his fellows were successful at Thessa- 
lonica to this extent : it pleased God ^^ by the fool- 
ishness of preaching to save them that believed ;'' 
and by being all things to all men they were ena- 
bled to '' save some/' The course of events was as 
follows : 

When Paul had reasoned with them from the 
Scriptures three Sabbath days, opening and alleging 
that Christ must needs have suff'ered and risen from 
the dead, and that this Jesus whom he preached was 
really the Christ ; we are told that '' some of them 
believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas ; and of 
the devout and of the Greeks a great multitude, and 



The Model Church 57 

of the chief women not a few/' The word took root 
in their he-arts. They believed it and embraced the 
Gospel as their hope ; and they consorted with Paul 
and Silas. They were united with them in faith 
and in hope and love, and so they naturally became 
ver}^ intimately associated with them. Some were 
Jews ; others were devout Greeks or Jewish prose- 
lytes ; many had been heathens ; and some of the 
first women of the city were among the number con- 
verted. 

This success was not, however, unmingled with 
troubles and sorrows. When God works Satan 
rages. When God's people are blessed Satan's chil- 
dren persecute thenx This occurred here. '' The 
Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took 
unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort ;" 
or, as some understand the record, certain pettifog- 
gers, or low, mean lawyers ; and they gathered a 
mob and ''set all the city in an uproar." Then 
they mobbed the house of Jason, a kinsman of 
Paul's, expecting to find the preachers there, and 
wreak their vengeance on them. Not finding them 
at Jason's house, they dragged Jason and some of 
the brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, 
'' These that have turned the world upside down 
are come hither also ; whom Jason hath received ; 
and these all do contrary to the decrees of C^sar, 
saying that there is another King, one Jesus/' It 
was a cunning device of these envious Jews and pet- 



58 Thessalonica : 

» 
tifogging scamps to accuse the missionaries of being 
disturbers of the peace all over the country, turning 
the world upside down ; and then to add for capi- 
tal's sake the accusation that they taught to break 
Ceesar's decrees, and that there was '^ another King^ 
one Jesus/' As if this traveling tent-maker had 
treason in his budget, and was organizing an armed 
insurrection or rebellion against Rome; as if Jesus' 
kingdom were of this w^orld, when Christ had said 
it was not ; and as if the Lord Jesus were enthroned 
somewhere as a rival of C^sar instead of being at 
God's right hand in the heavenly places, far above 
all principality and power and might. This accu- 
sation, which was the same one that had caused the 
condemnation of Jesus before Pontius Pilate, occa- 
sioned much disquiet. '^ They troubled the people 
and the rulers of the city, w^hen they heard these 
things." 

An insurrection was a o;rave affair ; law-breakino: 
was no trifling matter ; and proclaiming '^ another 
king" in the realm of the mighty Caesar's was no 
small occurrence. The magistrates did not wish to 
be mixed up with any treasonable plots ; and yet 
for their lives they could not see what mischief the 
old tent-maker and his companions had done or were 
likely to do. But as a precaution, since the matter 
was brought to their notice in legal form by the 
pettifoggers, they took '^ security of Jason and the 
other" and let them go. Still the spirit of mis- 



The Model Church. 59 

chief was evidently at work, and trouble was ahead. 
The Master had said to his sei-vants, " When they 
persecute you in one city flee into another ;'' and in 
accordance with this direction the brethren sent 
them away immediately by night to Berea, where 
they again preached the Gospel successfully. 

Thus ended the apostolic mission to Thessalonica. 
It was brief in its continuance, but glorious in its 
results. In the short space of less than a month 
some of the Jews, numbers of the heathen Greeks, 
and many of the chief women of Philippi had been 
converted to Christ, and a church was founded which 
was as a light in the world. And, though ages of 
darkness and corruption have intervened, the name 
of Christ has never been forgotten in Thessalonica, 
nor has his worship there ever wholly ceased, there 
being at present some thirty churches there under 
the Greek communion, where Christ and God are 
adored. 



60 Thessalonica 



CHAPTER V. 

The Model Church. Its Members. Not Naturally Christians. 
Why was it Peculiar 1 I. They were Persecuted. Sneers, In- 
sults, and Abuse. II. They were Independent. Could Live with- 
out Preaching. Not in Perpetual Babyhood. Could Stand 
Alone. III. A Loving Church. Not Sour and Quarrelsonie. 
Brotherly Love. Taught of God to Love one Another. IV. A 
Believing Church. Not mere Faith in Mysteries, but Faith in 
Facts. The Work of Faith. V. A Patient Church. Passive 
as well as Active Virtues. Examples of Endurance. Valor 
is not Sufficient. Endurance is Needful. VI. A Hopeful 
Church. Despair Depresses. Fear Weakens. Hope Gives 
Power. The Helmet. The Anchor. That Blessed Hope. Ever- 
lesting Consolation. What Memories the Apostles had of this 
Church ! Not of Pride, Worldliness, and Pomp, but Faith, Love, 
Zeal, and Purity. 

Having sketched the character and circumstances 
of the preachers who first proclaimed the Gospel in 
Thessalonica ; having seen that they were tried, 
persecuted, and despised, yet bold, fearless, out- 
spoken, and independent ; that they were faithful 
and God-fearing men, yet gentle and Christ-like in 
deportment ; filled with the spirit of power and of 
love, and of a sound mind ; that they were plain, 
pointed, and practical, as well as united and har- 
monious in their preaching ; — we proceed to observe 



The Model Church. 61 

the character of those among whom they labored, 
and to whom they preached the word of the Lord. 
What were the special peculiarities of those who 
composed this model church, and what character 
did they manifest after listening, for '' three Sabbath 
days/' to the word of God, as expounded by these 
faithful servants of the Most High ? 

In the beginning it may be remarked that there 
is no evidence that the Thessalonians, as a commu- 
nity, dijffered materially from others. The city was 
a flourishing seat of trade and commerce ; — to this 
day containing some seventy thousand inhabitants. 
It had the general assortment of saints and sinners, 
Jews and Gentiles, zealots and candid men. It was 
not free from persecutors, though, from some cause, 
either the disinclination of the devil to repeat the 
experiment of Philippi, or the greater candor of the 
magistrates, or else the tidings of the miraculous 
vindication of the apostles there, or the precaution 
of the brethren in sending the apostles away, they 
escaped the scourging and imprisonment which befel 
them at Philippi. But we must look outside of 
national or civil characteristics to account for the 
peculiarities of this church. 

I. In inquiring about the church at Thessalonica, 
one of the first facts which presents itself is, this 
church was subjected to severe persecutions. 
They '' received the word in much affliction, with 
joy of the Holy Ghost/' '' For ye, brethren, be- 



62 Thessalonica : 

came followers of the churches of God, which, in 
Judea, are in Christ Jesus : for ye also have suf- 
fered like things of your own countrymen, even as 
they have of the Jews ; who both killed the Lord 
Jesus and their own prophets, and have chased us 
out ; and they please not God, and are contrary to 
all men ; forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles 
that they might be saved, to fill up their sins 
alway ; for the wrath is come upon them to the 
uttermost." On account of these persecutions Paul 
sent Timothy to them, as he says, '' To establish 
you, and to comfort you concerning your faith ; that 
no man should be moved by these afflictions : for 
yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. 
For verily, when we were with you, we told you before 
that we should suffer tribulation ; even as it came 
to pass, and ye know/' Again these servants of 
the Lord write to them, saying, ^^ We ourselves 
glory in you, in the churches of God, for your 
patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribu- 
lations that ye endure ; which is a manifest proof 
of the righteous judgment of God, in that ye were 
counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which 
ye even suffer. Notwithstanding it is just with 
God to give in return affliction to theiji who afflict 
you, and to you, the afflicted, rest with us, when 
the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with 
his mighty angels/' 

Such was the manner of their receiving the Gos- 



The Model Church. 63 

pel. They received the word — not the opinions, 
creeds, glosses, guesses, and theories of men, but 
'• the word,'' the very '' word of God," — with much 
affliction. All hell was against them, and it was no 
sham battle in which they engaged. They had re- 
proach, no doubt. The preaching of the cross was 
to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks 
foolishness, and as they accepted it they became 
fools for Christ's sake. There is a great difference 
between being sprinkled with a few drops of water 
in infancy, being taught the catechism in childhood, 
receiving confirmation in youth, or ''joining the 
church " in maturer years, and by so doing becoming 
more respectable and honorable in all quarters than 
you ever were or could have been before ; and this 
coming out in the midst of abuse and insult with all 
hell's host spitting fire in your fac^, hurling arrows 
at your heart, or raining blows upon your head ! 
There is but little similarity between your walking, 
clad in purple and fine linen, up the broad aisle of 
some magnificent church, nodding assent to a creed 
or a confession which is read to you, and which you 
never saw before and perhaps never will again, and 
which you could not repeat ten sentences of to save 
your life ; and this forsaking all for Christ's sake, 
receiving the word in much affliction, being baptized 
into Christ's death, crucified to the world and all its 
pomp and pride, that you may attain the life to 
come with its blessedness at the appearing of the 
Lord. 



64 Thessalonica : 

I have no doubt that the converted Jews were 
taunted by the faithless with believing in a malefac- 
tor instead of a Messiah, while the Grecians were 
mocked for forsaking Plato and Socrates for Paul 
and Peter, and charged with leaving the mighty 
gods of heathendom to worship a dead Jew ! And 
of the honorable women no doubt it was asked by 
courtly dames and simpering damsels, ^' What, do 
you follow that old tent-maker from Tarsus ? Do 
you go chasing after those men that turn the world 
upside down ? Do you suffer yourself, a noble lady, 
to be led astray by a pack of jail-birds ? Why, 
they slept in jail at Philippi not a month ago ! Ah, 
madam, I thought your natural common sense, your 
high position, your good culture, would have secured 
you from all such follies as these. Tent-makers ! 
Thank my stai%, /have better gods than a dead 
Jew, and better instructors than strolling preachers/' 

All this and more, quite likely, was said, but said 
in vain, in the ears of the saints at Thessalonica. 
And when words were unavailing other means were 
tried. They were persecuted. Jason was mobbed 
in the' onset and dragged guiltless before the magis- 
trates. They were accused of treasonable designs. 
They were charged doubtless with many crimes 
falsely, and suffered many things unjustly. 

But they were forewarned and forearmed. They 
were tpld that they "should suffer persecution/' and 
when it came they did not think it strange. They 



The Model Church 6*5 

followed in the steps of a Captain made perfect 
through sufferings, and the message of his mercy 
came to them at the hands of those who had hazard- 
ed their lives for the Gospel's sake, and who count- 
ed all things as loss and dross for the excellency of 
the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord. 

These persecutions made hypocrites scarce. Few 
felt like embracing Christ for gain. The merchant 
did not join the church for trade, the lawyer for 
business, nor the doctor for ^^ practice.'' The fan of 
persecution scattered the chaff and left only the clean 
wheat. Their religion wa^ no forced growth in some 
religious hot-house, but the sturdy out-door plant 
that defied the sunshine and the frost. It was not like 
some hot-strained oil, fluid only while near the fire, 
— it was *' the cold-pressed article,'' available in all 
seasons of the year. Hence they did not need to be 
tended, fondled, petted and eternally tinkered to 
keep them along in the right path ; — they could run 
alone. They w^ere strong, for God was with them ! 

II. In considering the Thessalonian church as 
such, another thing cannot escape our notice, namely, 
that they w^ere remarkably independent- The op- 
posite is true of most churches at the present hour. 
In many of tlie large congregations in great cities, 
as well as in the country, if the minister is absent 
all worship is suspended. During his summer vaca- 
tion the house of worship is closed ; and hardly a 
social meeting can be held unless the pastor or the 



66 Thessalonica : 

deacons or the elders are present to attend to it. 
Their religious life is a perpetual babyhood. When 
for the time they ought to be teachers they have 
need that one teach them what are '^ the principles 
of the doctrine of Christ.^' They do not go on unto 
perfection. They are not even grounded in the pri- 
mary doctrines of faith. Eepentance with them is 
but a form^ faith is too often dead, baptism is a 
multiform and unmeaning ceremony, the laying on 
of hands an almost discarded arrangement, the re- 
surrection of the dead a matter of keen metaphysical 
disputation, and the eternal judgment is dwarfed to 
signify the destruction of Jerusalem, subdivided into 
the ten thousand deaths of individual men, or push- 
ed so far into future ages that it causes no deep and 
terrible apprehension to the sinner or sure and glo- 
rious consolation to the saint. They have need of 
milk, and not of strong meat. They are but babes 
in Christ, even if they are '' in Christ '' at all. They 
depend upon hired ministers, for their preaching and 
praying, hired singers and organists for their singing 
and praising God, one or two hired missionaries to 
go about the city and do the church's duty in look- 
ing up the poor, the distressed and needy, while they 
perhaps speculate, swindle and cheat, dress in pur- 
ple and fine linen, grind the face of the poor and op- 
press the helpless and the needy, and think to settle 
all by renting a high-priced pew, putting a penny 
into the collection and subscribing ten dollars to send 



The Model Church. 67 

a missionary to some heathen land, they making ten 
thousand dollars by sending out a cargo of rum, to- 
bacco, opium, or gunpowder in the same vessel that 
carries him thither. 

Such churches exid only as some attractive preacher 
keeps them in motion. The pious portion of the 
congregation is small, the active portion is smaller 
still. They do not act — they are acted upon. They 
do not move — they are moved. Crossing from New 
York to Brooklyn on the ferry-boat one day, I saw 
a stately vessel moving slowly along the stream. It 
had not a sail set, yet it moved. The tide did not 
seem to favor it, yet it moved. 1 wondered at its 
progress, till, as we sailed past it, I looked back and 
saw, low down by the side of the large ship, a little 
steam -tug, almost hidden from view, yet puffing, and 
panting, and splashing, and paddling, and so driving 
the big ship along. This was all the propelling 
power there was. So many a church, surrounded by 
external splendor and counting a numerous and 
wealthy membership, makes some progress and has 
some prosperity ; but the source of it is not in the 
steeple, the bell, the organ loft, the pulpit or the 
hired pews, but around by the back door, away down 
in the basement where a few poor and humble Chris- 
tians bow down before God in prayer, to sigh and 
cry for the abominations that are in the land and the 
deadness that is in the church ; and this is all the 
real power of motion there is in the whole concern. 



68 Thessalonica : 

Not like these churches was the church at Thes- 
salonica. They learned to stand alone. Instead of 
hindering, they helped. Instead of resting on others 
for support, they were strong, so that others could 
rest on them. Though as a church they had only 
three weeks' preaching to start them, yet they grew 
in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, and be- 
came eflScient workers in the cause of God. It does 
not appear that Paul visited them again for many 
veare, even if he did at all. After leavino; them for 
a while, he ordered Timothy to return and visit them 
that he might learn of their prosperity ; and the re- 
port was so cheering that there seemed to be no spe- 
cial need of Paul's returning there to preach to them 
more at that time. And in this respect — independ- 
ence and personal reliance on Grod — the church at 
Thessalonica were decidedly peculiar. They could 
stand where they were left, or go forward, and they 
were not so helpless that when Paul left they must 
and would have some one to preach to them, even if, 
rather than be destitute, they should hire Balaam, 
Simon Magus, or Judas Iscariot himself. And here 
is a great fault with many churches now. Nothing 
but preaching will do for them : " We must have 
preaching every Sunday, or we cannot sustain our- 
selves. And we must have a smart man. Of course 
we want a good man, but he must be gifted, elo- 
quent, glib-tongued.'^ And so if they cannot have 
Bible they will have fables ; if they cannot have 



The Model Church. 69 

truth they will take error ; if Paul will not stay 
and tickle their ears when Grod calls him else- 
where, then they will have some one else, even if 
it be a false apostle, or some one of those '' who 
privily bring in damnable heresies, denying the 
Lord that bought them/' And so, in a single ser- 
mon preached to some of these churches who ^^must 
have preaching/' more tares will be sown and more 
errors promulgated than can be eradicated in a life- 
time. In this way many persons go about, stretch- 
ing out their necks, saying, ^^ Yoke me. '' And if good 
men refuse to do it, bad men are not wanting who 
loill do it ; and, the first thing we know, Paul has 
to say, '^ All Asia are turned away." The Thessa- 
lonians were not of this stamp. Where Paul left 
them on o-oins: awav, he would find them when he 
returned, — in the same position, only farther on in 
the Christian life. 

III. The Thessalonian church may be noted as a 
LOVING church — a church in whose inner heart throb- 
bed the deep currents of Christian afi*ection, and from 
whose outer life it radiated in all the warmth of ac- 
tive Christian benevolence. It was not a church 
made up of vinegar- faced deacons, pharisaic-looking 
elders, tattling women, and mischief-making old 
maids, with a gallery full of singers that managed 
to be in a quarrel every fortnight about who should 
have the highest seats, and a few poor, humble souls 
that were like lambs among wolves, enduring all 



70 Thessalonica : 

that the others were disposed to inflict. To no such 
church would Paul and Silas and Timothy have 
written, '' We give thanks to Grod always for you all, 
remembering without ceasing, your work of faith and 
labor o/love and patience of hope in the Lord Jesus 
Christ and in the sight of Grod and our Father/' Nor 
would Timothy have brought such good tidings of 
their ''faith and charity '' if he had found them in 
the midst of quarrelings, strivings, and debates. 

They loved Christ, and they loved his people and 
his cause. Their hearts were directed into the love 
of Grod and the patient waiting for Jesus Christ ; 
they received the love of the truth that they might 
be saved. They had that love which is the end of 
the commandment, which is the fulfilling of the law, 
which is greater than faith or hope, which '' suffer- 
eth long and is kind,^' that love which ''never fail- 
eth.'' This was the love for which Paul prayed 
when he said, " And the Lord make you to increase 
and abound in love one toward another, and toward 
all men, even as we do toward you.'' This love 
could not be too deep or too strongly implanted in 
their hearts or manifested in their lives. 

And how blessed must be the character of that 
church to whom it need not be said, " Thou hast 
left i\i J first love,''' but instead of which it could be 
written : " But as touching brotherly love, ye need 
not that I write unto you ; for ye yourselves are 
taught of God to love one another. And indeed 7je 



The Model Church. 71 

do it toward all the brethren which are in all Mace- 
donia : but we beseech you, brethren^ that ye do it 
more and more/' 

The deep affection which Paul felt for the Thes- 
salonians had borne its fruit in the rich development 
of Christian love in the church, and he could say to 
them, '' We are bound to thank Grod always for you, 
brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith grow- 
eth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you 
all toward each other aboundeth/' The love which 
they bore was not the love pertaining to class or 
caste. It was not merely the rich loving the wealthy, 
nor the wise lovino; the intellio:ent, nor the fashion- 
able people loving the refined, but the love of every 
one of them all abounded toward each other. It was 
an universal feeling — an all- pervading power that 
controlled and moulded every heart and every mind. 
It was not the result of resolves and compacts and 
agreements ; it was not by the repressive power of 
law and fear ; it was '^ the love of Grod shed abroad 
in their hearts by the Holy Grhost ]'' it was by this 
that they were '' taught of God to love one another '^ 
so fully that even an apostle needed not to repeat 
the lesson ; for they loved with the natural instinct 
of renewed and converted souls, and thus had an 
affection never possessed by those who deny the in- 
fluence of the Holy Spirit, or who, admitting the 
reality of its working, yet live in sinful destitution 
of its regenerating power. 



72 Thessalonica : 

And herein, in the deep current of universal 
Christian love, did the church at Thessalonica differ 
most essentially from many churches at the present 
day. They had been forgiven much and so they 
loved much. They had consequently a care and 
tenderness for each other. They knew the great 
fact of the unity of the church as '^ the body of 
Christ ;" and, as they were all members one of 
another, mutual love was tlie natural result ; for 
no man ever hated ^^ his own flesh,'' and when one 
member suffered all the rest suffered with it. 

IV. The church at Thessalonica were a believ- 
ing church. They had faith — not merely the faith 
in mysteries, without which it is impossible to 
please theologians, but that faith in facts '' with- 
out which it is impossible to please God.'' Now-a- 
days, this matter oi faith is sadly misapprehended. 
We have various kinds of faith, such as '^ Historical 
faith," ^^ Saving faith," '^ Miraculous faith," ^^ Or- 
thodox faith," ^' Heterodox faith," and so on to the 
end. The Scriptures mention two kinds of faith, 
living faith and dead faith. One is the faith of 
saints and servants of the Lord, the other, the faith 
of demons, sinners, and hypocrites. The faith of 
the servants of God of old, the faith of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, — the faith without which it is 
impossible to please God, — was not a faith in two or 
three incomprehensible mysteries, expressed in 
vvords of men rather than in words of God. fenced 



The Model Church. 73 

in on every side by the sharp pickets of theohio;ical 
controversy and lo^^ical aro;umentation : but it was 
a simple believing of '^ every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of the Lord/' What God had 
promised they expected. What he had predicted 
they hoped for. What he forbade they avoided. 
What he commanded they obeyed. This was the 
faith of the Thessalonian church. It was no faith 
without works, which is dead being alone. It was 
no creed of mere abstractions and notions. It 
was no party shibboleth to snare unwary souls, 
entrap weak consciences, or create sects by dealing 
in mysterious, equivocal, and unintelligible terms, 
and imposing them upon all who heard them, 
whether they would accept them or not. 

Of their faith the apostles said : " We give 
thanks to God always for you all, making mention 
of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing 
your work offaith^ and labor of love, and patience 
of hope.'' ^* In every place your faith to God-ward 
is spread abroad/' '• When ye received the word 
of God which ye heard of us, ye received it, not as 
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of 
God, which effectually worketh also in you that be- 
lieve.'' '' When I could no longer forbear, I sent 
to know your faith . . . Timotheus came from you 
to us and brought us good tidings of yowy faith and 
charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us 
always, desiring greatly to see us^ as we also to see 



74 Thessalonica : 

you ; therefore, brethren, we were comforted o^er 
you, in all our aflfliction and distress by your faith. 
For now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord . . . 
Kight and day praying exceedingly that we might 
see your face, and might perfect that which is lack- 
ing in JOMY faith. But let us who are of the day 
be sober, putting on the breast-plate of faith and 
love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation/' 
'^ We are bound to thank God always for you, 
brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith 
groweth exceedingly." ^^ Our testimony among you 
was believed.'^ 

Such are the intimations which illustrate the faith 
of the Thessalonian church. They had the faith by 
which the ancients obtained such a good report ; 
and, believing in God, they were justified by that 
faith, were ^' blessed with faithful Abraham,'^ and 
were ^^ followers of them who through faith and pa- 
tience inherit the promises/' In their confidence in 
God there was no equivocation, no mental reserva- 
tion, no uncertainty. Their faith grew exceedingly 
as it was tried by persecutions, and as fresh answers 
to prayer confirmed their confidence in the divine 
promises. 

Blessed is the church which has such a faith as 
this — a faith which, though it may not be fully de- 
fined in symbols or confessions, or laid down in the 
logic of " articles,'' can be illustrated by every sen- 
tence in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, and by the 



The Model Church. 75 

experience of the living church of God in every age 
of the world. And though it may not be exhibited 
stuflfed and dried^ mummied and skeletoned, wired 
and jointed, petrified and fossilized according to the 
sayings of some council, synod, or convention of past 
ages, who little dreamed what bedsteads of iron they 
were constructing for others to lie on, it can neverthe- 
less be seen and exemplified in the lives of the elect 
of God, wherever a trustful heart and a believing 
soul looks up to God with an abiding confidence in 
him, and goes forth to do the work which that con- 
fidence inspires him with zeal to accomplish. 

Thus the Thessalonians were imitators of those 
who through faith lived lives of humble, laborious, 
and eff'ective zeal in the Master's cause, honoring his 
name, and preparing themselves for the glories of 
his eternal kingdonx 

V. The Thessalonian church was a patient 
church. They exhibited not only the active and 
heroic virtues, but the passive virtues of endurance 
and long-suff'ering. Their ^' patience of hope'' was 
remembered by the apostle with thankfulness. 
Hence he declares, " We ourselves glory in you in 
the churches of God, for your patience and faith 
in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye 
endure." '^ And,'' he prays, '' the Lord direct your 
hearts into the love of God and into the patient 
waiting for Christ." 

The importance of this characteristic can hardly 



76 Thessalonica : 

be overrated. The Thessalonians had much to en-* 
dure, and it demanded patience as well as courage. 
For they could not meet force with force, or railing 
with railing. They could not oppose curse to curse, 
and slander to slander. Their strength must be the 
strength of endurance. The anvil is stronger than 
the hammer, because it has passive power to endure 
more than the active power of the hammer can in- 
jflict. So the church of God has been mightier than 
its foes, not because it has outdone them in acts of 
fury, but because it has endured all and yet has not 
been destroyed. Forbidden to fight, even to pre- 
vent the Saviour himself being delivered into the 
hands of his foes ; belonging to a kingdom which is 
not of this world ; taught to endure afl3.ictions, and 
commanded to overcome evil with good and with 
good alone ; Christians have rejoiced in the oppor- 
tunities they enjoyed to manifest their principles 
and commend the cause and name of their divine 
Master to the consciences of all around. 

Hence the apostles could point to these brethren 
as '^ensamples of suffering, affliction, and patience." 
They could glory over all their tribulations and pre- 
sent them to all the churches in Achaia, as exam- 
ples of a patient endurance of afflictions and trials 
in the Grospel of Christ. 

Without this virtue the individual Christian, or 
the collective church, will be deficient in that per- 
manent power which is requisite for success in the 



The Model Church. 77 

cause of God. For, mere valor — the rash courao;e 
that prompts to the onset and the strife — will be 
dissipated by the incessant vexations and troubles 
which arise, and whose only remedy ijs not valor, 
but strength ; not zeal, but steadfast, unflinching, 
enduring patience. 

VI. The Thessalonian church were eminently a 
HOPEFUL church. The difference between the reli- 
gion of fear and that of hope is immense. One 
gathers blackness to the soul even at noon-day, and 
only uses light and sunshine to make shadows with, 
and the other sees in all sorrows some grounds for 
joy, and sparkles like a gem in the darkness by the 
light it has within. Fear depresses, hope elevates. 
Fear crushes, hope expands. Despair may nerve the 
soul to sullen toil; apprehension may stimulate' it 
with a fitful fury, but the energy of despair or the 
fitful rage of fear is no match for the steady, joyous 
buoyancy of hope. 

Hence God has given to his people a hope — a good 
hope through grace ; a hope like an anchor to the 
soul ; a hope that maketh not ashamed. And this 
hope the church at Thessalonica had taken to be 
their heritage and great consolation. While uncer- 
tainty as to ultimate results makes men restless, un- 
easy, diflS-dent, and impatient, good hope reassures 
the soul, and keeps it steady amid the tossings of the 
billows and the tumult of the storm. The Thessa- 
lonians were patient in all their tribulations, and 



78 Thessalonica : 

their patience was ^^ the patience of hope." They 
had taken this hope to be a covert from the hail- 
storms of battle, from the assaults of enemies ; and 
what better security could they have for a reeling 
brain, battered by an host of foes, than to take ''for 
an helmet the hope of salvation," while they wielded 
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Grod. 

For, this great, grand, glorious thought — that all 
will come right at last, — that the weary shall find 
rest and the fainting refreshment, in the kingdom of 
God, — that tears shall be dried, pains removed, sor- 
rows banished and death destroyed — is an incentive 
of unparalleled power, to urge us onward in the 
heavenly way. This the Thessalonians had. Hope 
made them not ashamed. They worked from hope 
rather than fear. Heaven drew, more than hell drove. 
Christ's love was stronger than Satan's hate. In 
their afflictions they sorrowed not even as others who 
have no hope, and in their trials they took comfort 
in the thought that God had not appointed them to 
wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Je- 
sus Christ. Their hope rested not in fogs, myth^, and 
mysticism, but in Jesus and the resurrection. Their 
anchor was not cast amid the quicksands or the mire 
of earth, but afar, within the veil, whither Jesus our 
forerunner is for us entered. There they laid up 
their hope and confidence ; there their life was hid 
with Christ in God. Oh that the God of hope might 
fill us with joy and peace in believing ; that we 



The Model Church. 79 

mio:ht^ like the Christians of old, abound in hope, 
through the power of the Holy Ghost ! 

We need the strong consolations of a good hope 
through grace, amid the thickening perils of these 
latter times. We need the anchor to hold us amid 
the fury of the storra^ we need the helmet, the hope 
of salvation, and all the armor of God, that we may 
stand against all the wiles of Satan. We need to 
lift up our heads and look up ; to stand fast in joy- 
ful expectation ; to have our loins girt about and 
our lis^hts burnino; ; and ourselves like unto men 
that wait for their Lord when he shall return from 
the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh we 
may open unto him immediately. All this we need. 
And, to prepare us for this wakeful, joyous service, 
what can be better than to have our hearts full of 
hope and joy in prospect of approaching redemption 
from all the ills of mortality ? Let this hope abide 
in us, joined with faith, and also with love which is 
greater than either. The members of a church who 
are bound to each other and to the Lord bv this 
" threefold cord," the one faith, the one hope, and 
the one deep love, the love of God shed abroad by 
the Holy Ghost, — will be strong, (X)urageous, hope- 
ful, and efficient ; much like the church at Thessa- 
lonica, the joy and crown, the boast and comfort of 
the true servants of the Lord, who will give thanks 
to God upon every recollection of them, remember- 
ing without ceasing their work of faith, and labo.^ 



80 Thessalonica ; 

of love, and patience of hope in the sight of Grod and 
our Father ; thus knowing by these blessed tokens 
their election of God. 

We always recollect those characteristics which 
are most prominent in churches or individuals with 
whom we are acquainted. Hence of one we say, 
^' How sweetly he sang ;" of another, ^^ How gently 
he spoke ;'' of another, '^ How cross he looked ;" of 
another, ^^ How generous he always seemed to be/' 
Those things which impressed us most seem to rise 
to the surface of our recollections, and stand out 
most prominently before us. 

And what would be the impression made upon 
the mind of Paul by the recollection of many of the 
churches of to-day ? Would he not too often re- 
member the pride of some, the covetousness of others, 
the hypocrisy of others, the worldliness of others, the 
feasts, the fairs, the grab- bags, the gambling tools of 
others, the cunning craft to get from the wicked 
world the cash that miserly church members are too 
stingy to bestow, the pleasure-parties and levees, the 
janglings, and disputes, the quarrels and strivino^s, 
debates and jealousies, the troubles among the 
singers, the difficulties with the trustees, the disputes 
of the committee, the cheating of some dishonest 
deacon, the lordly tyranny of some man who has the 
most money of any one in the church, the high- 
priced pews which poor men cannot aiford to hire, 
the stiff, starched sexton savinsr to the rich bias- 



The Model Church, 81 

phemer with his goodly apparel and his gold ring, 
^' Sit thou here in a good place/' and to the poor man 
in his humble garb, ^' Stand thou there/' in the aisle 
or vestibule, or sit in the gallery, or '^ under my foot- 
stool," the mahogaiiy pulpit, the bass-wood sermons, 
the sleeping congregation and their cushioned seats, 
the operatic singing, the grumbliag bass, the unin- 
telligible soprano, the mysterious jargon of alto and 
tenor, the horrible discordance drowned in organic 
thunder which leaves the congregation in open-eared 
and wide-mouthed wonder striving in vain to catch 
a single sentence of the mocking strain which has 
been sung for money under pretence of worshiping 
God? 

But ah, how different from all this were the apos- 
tles' recollections of the Thessalonian church ! How 
fragrant were their memories of that noble, persecu- 
ted flock ! Their work of faith, their patience of 
hope, their labor of love in the sight of Grod and of 
our Father ; the constant evidences and illustrations 
of their divine election in their godly lives and 
Christian conduct ; — all these brightened the apos- 
tles' recollections of the toils and troubles of the 
pnst, as the fruitful soil rewards the husbandman's 
labor ; and also allured the w^eary servants of the 
Most High onward to the rapture of their final rest, 
when they should meet their brethren, so much be- 
loved, in the surpassing glory of the everlasting 
home ; when they should be clearlv seen to be their 



82 Thessalonica : 

'^hope and joy and crown of rejoicing" in the pres- 
ence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming. And 
the apostles, sensible of the life-giving 'power of 
^' the God of hope/' thus pray : '' Now our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and God, even our Father, which 
hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting conso- 
lation and good hope through grace, comfort your 
hearts, and stablish you in every good word and 
work/' So, girding up the loins of their minds, 
the Thessalonian Christians were sober, and hoped 
unto the end, for the grace that should be brought 
imto them at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 



The Model Church. 83 



CHAPTER VI. 

Such a Church as this must Work. A Missionary Church.— 
Without Modern Machinery. Worldly Policy Centrahzes — Chris- 
tian Policy Diffuses. Rome. Babel. A Tower. A Steeple. — 
The Word Sounded out. The Field Large. Facilities Few. •' In 
Every Place." How was it Done 7 Willing the Apostles should 
Go and Preach. Unselfish. Willing to Sacrifice. Not Devoted 
to ViceSj Bad Habits, and Sins. Their PubHc Worship. Men 
Hearing were Convinced, — Converted, — Saved. Earnestness in 
Labor. Zeal. Their Success should Shame our Idleness in the 
Work. 

A CHURCH, such as has been described, could not 
be idle in the Master's cause. Constrained as it was 
by the love and grace of Christ, it must act for God 
and right.* Hence this church, by the well-directed 
manifestation of the indwelling divine energy, be- 
came a center of a powerful influence for good upon 
the world around. Conseq[uently, the church at 
Thessalonica was, in the most emphatic sense, a 
missionary church. 

By this I do not mean to say that the Thessalo- 
nians had all the modes and machinery that are 
deemed essential or important in modern missionary 
movements ; such as annual meetings, bulky reports, 
soumiing of trumpets ; agents — too lazy to work and 



84 Thessalonica : 

too dull to preach — begging eight hundred dollars 
and using six for their salaries; '^unappreciated" 
clergymen, comfortably ensconced as secretaries and 
managers, feeling intensely the wants of the cause, 
and begging in the hardest of times money enough 
to pay their own salaries ; a host of contributing 
churches whose aid is much of it swallowed by a set 
of officers who are anxious to do the Lord's business 
for ten times the amount of commission they could 
get for doing anybody else's.* Nor had they estab- 
lished these circuitous societies, through which, of the 
dollar bestowed by the contributor, a dime reaches 
the hand of the laborer in his distant field ; these 
vast machines, which require nearly all the power to 
move them and nearly all the cash to oil their wheels ; 
these circumlocution offices which allow the people 
to put their contributed grist into the common hop- 
per at one end, but which never enable them to see 
just where it comes out at the other.f Nor had they 
these incorporated authorities which settle questions 
of right and wrong by vote, and which not only stand 
between the laborers and the church, so that they 
do not feel the warm sympathies of a common life, 
but which sometimes get between the laborers and 

♦ It was stated on good authority, that one Missionary Society, about the 
year 1859, collected some $34,000, and expended some sixteen or seventeen 
thousand dollars of it in office expenses and salaries while distributing it. 

t A gentleman informed me that the church with which he was connected 
forwarded funds to a certain society for a Sunday School at the West. The 
funds were diverted to other uses or localities, and the aid never reached its 
destination. The next year they made their collection and sent it them- 
selves, and know where it went. 



The Model Church. 85 

their duty and their God. All these things, and. 
more which might be mentioned, are not included 
in the e^isentials which went to make the church at 
Thessalonica a missionary church. 

But, though they were not versed in all the 
schemes and arrangements that pertain to the pre- 
sent modes of labor, they were, nevertheless, in 
character a missionary church. Their influence 
tended most decidedly in this direction. Whether 
they, like the church at Philippi, sent forth direct 
contributions in aid of apostolic preachers or not, 
we are uninformed. They may have done so, as 
they were evidently actuated by a similar disposition. 
But whether they did this or not^ they were not 
idlers in the vineyard of the heavenly Master. The 
character of their work may be inferred from the re- 
corded results^ which are thus alluded to by Paul 
and Silas and Timothy : '' For from you sounded 
out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia 
and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to- 
God-ward is spread abroad, so that we need not to 
speak anything. For they themselves shew of us, 
what manner of entering we had unto you, and how 
that ye turned from idols, to serve the living and 
true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.'' 

The world's policy is centralization. Christ's 
policy is diffusion. Men build towers and steeples 
that they may not be scattered abroad ; Christ says, 
'' Go ye into all the wokld, and preach the Gos- 



86 Thessalonica : 

pel to eveiy creature/^ While the church, is Christ-* 
like it diffuses ; when it becomes worldly it cen- 
tralizes. . 

Centralization was worked out at Eome ; and as^ 
at Babel of old, Grod confounded the tongues of the 
tower builders and forced them to disperse ; as the 
Lord, out of Paul and Silas' dissension, brought 
good in the establishment of two missions instead of 
one ; so he may permit, for his own glory, some of 
the many separations which have broken the corrupt 
and stolid indifference of the one great central church, 
and thus spread the Grospel where the name of 
Christ might not otherwise have been known. Thus 
God makes a way for his word, though Babel's 
tower remains' unfinished, and the confusion of 
tongues spreads discord among the builders thereof. 

But the policy of selfish centralization still con- 
tinues. Proud and worldly church members and 
sinners say, '' Go to, now, let us build a steeple, 
the 'top whereof shall reach four feet higher than any 
other in the town. Let us build the most splendid 
church in the region. Let us buy an organ, hire 
singers, procure a preacher, have a dedication, a fair, 
and a levee ; — lest we be scattered abroad on the 
face of the earth ; lest our members go to another 
meeting where the house is larger, the steeple higher, 
the music better, the crowd richer, the cushions 
softer, and the preaching smoother than ours.'' 

In this way all wealth and talent is centralized 



The Model Church. 87 

and concentrated about the one chuich at homo. 
Neighboring hamlets are unvisited and forgotten. 
Persons who cannot go six or ten miles to church 
are left without Gospel privileges. Money enough 
is wasted on the big gothic pile to build a dozen 
plain meeting-houses in which the poor might wor- 
ship God. Ten thousand dollars, which might have 
been given to widows and orj)haQ5, is invested in a 
tower built of brick or stone, and slime or mortar, 
which serves, like the tower of Babel, merely for a 
landmark to prevent dispersion, and which will come 
down with a horrible crash in the day when God 
arises to shake terriblv the earth. - Thus churches 
go on in pride and worldlmess ; disobeying God and 
wondering at their barrenness ; departing from 
Christ and being astonished at their coldness ; fol- 
lowing Satan and bewailing their deadness ; filled 
with wealth and worldliness, with covered dis- 
honesty and unrebuked iniquity ; hiding the wedge 
of gold and the Babylonish garment in their tents, 
like Achan of old, and yet wondering that the arms 
of Israel are broken, and that his foes prevail in the 
day of tumult and of war. 

And a few dimes or dollars, or even hundreds oi 
thousands, from such a purse-proud, pride-swollen 
society as this, does not constitute them a missionary 
church. Nor does the hiring of a city missionary, to 
do their work for them, give to them this character. 
It requires a sense of more direct and personal re- 



88 Thessalonica : 

sponsibility, a more heart)^, united and individtia] 
action, and a deeper sympathy with Christ and 
with humanity, to constitute them a missionary 
church. 

Ah ! how many churches have hardly any moral 
power beyond the sight of their spire or the sound 
of their bell. And often Sunday- worship seems to 
be a compound of dry forms and soft sayings, of 
hired singing and preaching and praying and play- 
ing, while the daily life of the gathering multitude 
is one of simple worldliness. They have as a church 
no hearty, vigorous Christ-life in them. They cum- 
ber the ground. They consume in vanity and pride 
the wealth which God entrusts unto their charge. 
They absorb the strength of the faithful few, who, 
instead of going forth to Grod's harvest-field to reap 
and receive wages, and gather fruit unto life eternal, 
waste their power in fruitless effort, scarcely 
affecting the moral inertia of the dormant body. 

Widely different from such churches were the 
noble-hearted Christians of Thessalonica. They 
were awake and in earnest, and God was with them 
in their work. So God was honored, and Paui 
could say of them, '^ From you sounded out the 
word of the Lord.'^ 

The message that sounded out was not the clamor 
of creeds, covenants, confessions, disputations con- 
cerning fate and freewill, learned guesses at deep 
and unrevealed mysteries, shreds of Platonic phi- 



The Model Church. 89 

losophy, pagan absurdity, and heathen monstrosity. 
Nor was it a sound of striving, and bickering, bro- 
ther going to law with brother, preacher with preach- 
er, and deacon with deacon. Nor was it a tale of 
unholy rivalry, of mutual jealousies and slanders ; 
nor was it a sound of cheating, rascality, and oppres- 
sion, of political ambition and place-seeking syco- 
phancy ; of flattery for the rich, contempt for the 
poor, smooth words for the mighty and rough ones 
for the weak : nor of hollow-heartedness and hypo- 
crisy, causing the godly to lament and the wicked 
to blaspheme. 

Nor was the sound that went forth from them the 
laudation of some worldling who praised them for 
their new church, fine organ, soft seats, smooth 
preaching, high steeple, and new bell ; nor was it a 
sound of gambling, fairs, leeves. and grab-bags and 
all sorts of questionable devices for the gathering to- 
gether of a little money to decorate and adorn their 
church or to expend in vain and idle show. 

Can we imagine a sound going forth from them 
in the shape of a newspaper article such as follows : 

F7'om the Thessalonica Daily News. 

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. 

New Church Enterprise. — Interesting Details. 

We are happy to inform our readers that the First 
Church of the Paulites in Thessalonica, having secured 
the services of the Reverend Doctor Deraas at a salary 
of fifty thousand drachmas a year, w^itb the learned and 



90 Thessalonica : 

venerable Dr. Balaam as his colleague and assistant, 
have so attrac3tcd the attendants of the less populai 
churches, the Silasites, the Barnabasites, and the Petre- 
ans, that their former commodious house of worship has 
become inconveniently small, all the eligible sittings 
being rented at enormous rates. 

It has therefore been deemed advisable to prepare 
more extensive-accommodations for the crov^ds who are 
attracted from theatres and idol temples to listen to the 
pulpit oratory of these eloquent divines. Accordingly 
a meeting was held which was attended by great num- 
bers of the first people of the city to take the matter 
into consideration. At this meeting the proconsul and 
several of the wealthiest and noblest citizens, publicly 
stated that they had long thought of connecting them- 
selves with Dr. Demas' church, and had only been de- 
terred by the fact that the common people rushed in 
there so freely that the society was not quite select 
enough, and the place of worship was not architectural- 
ly equal to the temple of the great goddess Diana at 
Ephesus. But if the Paulites would erect a better tem- 
ple than that of Diana, and one which should be an or- 
nament to their city, they would subscribe from five to 
fifty talents each, and would become Paulites them- 
selves, provided the building was not too large, so that 
the poor would be allowed a place in it. 

Professor Jubal, the venerable musician, offered to 
furnish the church with an organ ; one which had been 
used by those which '' said unto God, depart from us, 
for we desire not a knowledge of thy ways," as long ago 
as in the time of Job. It was in excellent repair, and 
he should be very glad to have it devoted to so good a 
purpose. He would therefore give it freely, upon con- 
dition that a son of his should be permanently employ- 
ed as organist at a liberal salary. His son was engaged, 
it was true, furnishing music for a feast of bacchanals on 
Saturday evening ; but, though sometimes slightly dis- 
guised with wine, he would warrant him to be sober 
enough to bo ready to play for the morning service, and 



The 3Iodd Church. 91 

if he was thirsty he could go out during sermon and 
take a dram.* 

Two or three old-fashioned men objected to the ar- 
rangement for excluding the poor from the new church ; 
but they had no money, and of course no influence 
They, however, urged that the poor must have the Gos- 
pel preached to them. Some discussion arose upon this, 
when Dr. Demas, fearing to lose the proconsuPs sub- 
scription, interposed in the blessed character of a 
peace-maker ; and suggested that, as the objectors were 
persons of no culture or learning, and were unable to 
comprehend the sublime mysteries which he should un- 
fold, and as, moreover, they might not feel at home 
among such dignified associates as the wearers of purple 
and fine linen were, he would therefore propose a compro- 
mise, allowing such as chose to do so to retire, build a 
poorer church, settle a cheaper minister, and so take their 
stand as the Second Paulite Church in Thessalonica ; 
that he himself would contribute something to build the 
church edifice and w^ould preach the dedication sermon, 
just for the sake of getting these poor people out of the 
way. Others agreed to render some aid in this laudable 
enterprise, and so the difficulty was avoided. 

Another trouble had nearly arisen on account of the 
organ. One man argued that though under the old 
covenant instruments of music were appointed in tem- 
ple worship, under the new covenant they were not to 
be used at all ; that even in old times God pronounced 
a woe upon those who were at ease in Zion and invent- 
ed to themselves instruments of music like David. Dr. 
Demas, however, politely insinuated that those who had 
no music in their souls were free to go to the Second 
Church, where there was no danger of their being able 
to get organs, even if they desired them ever so much. 

The result of the meeting was that a building com- 
mittee was appointed, consisting of several of the more 
prominent citizens of the place. The Rev. Dr. Balaam, 

* As the musician in the church in P used to do. 



92 Thessalonica : 

from his peculiar talents as a financier, was made col 
lectiog agent. Mr. Judas Iscariot, Jr., son of the formei 
of that name, was chosen treasurer of the building fund, 
as specially qualified to carry '' the bag.^^ Elymas the 
sorcerer was pleased to offer valuable hints on architec- 
ture and acoustics. Professor Demetrius was selected 
as architect, he furnishing a plan superior in beauty to 
that of any edifice yet erected ; which he ofiered to give 
freely on condition that he should have the contract for 
building, when the shrine business was dull at Ephesus. 
And Alexander the coppersmith took the contracts for 
roofing and plumbing. 

The foundations were duly laid, and the building 
erected, and consecrated. It is all paid for except fifty 
thousand drachmas, which Dr. Balaam deducted from 
the amount which he collected, as commission ; and 
ninety thousand drachmas, which sum was unfortunately 
embezzled by Mr. Iscariot, it having been absorbed in 
some little speculations of his which resulted disastrous- 
ly. As he has taken the benefit of the bankrupt act, 
and as his bondsmen are said to be unable to respond 
to his obligations, the amount will no doubt be a total 
loss, unless something is realized from the sale of fancy 
stocks and securities in his possession. It is thought, 
however, that this slight deficit may be made up by 
selling the pews at auction, and giving a mortgage on 
the house to Mr. Iscariot's wife, who, it is stated, has 
lately come in possession of considerable property and 
has money to lend. The remainder is to be provided 
for in the annual fair of the society, in which, besides 
the ordinary attractions of useful and fancy articles, 
there are to be gambling arrangements, lotteries, etc., 
etc. A bed-quilt is to be sold by tickets ; a piano in 
the same manner ; there are also to be "guess-cakes," 
" ring cakes,'^ and other illustrations of how soon a fool 
and his money can be parted, grab-bags, where persons 
take their chances for sixpence a grab, rag babies, wood- 
en toys, a post-oflSce, a roulette table, a wheel of for- 
tune, which is warranted to win every time,* and which, 

* Nearly all these contrivances were in use at the church fair in W -. 



The Model Church. 93 

though an illegal amusement, has been allowed for the 
occasion by the governor for the good of the cause ; and 
finally, in addition to all this, a number of the most 
elegantly dressed and best looking ladies offer them- 
selves to the public to be kissed at twenty-five cents a 
smack.* It is thought that these means will raise the 
money ; if not there is probably some other way in which 
the ladies can obtain it if they choose. 

We are most happy, therefore, to announce to our 
readers generally that the church of Drs. Demas and 
Balaam is now open for divine service. They have, as 
will be seen, unusual attractions. An eloquent minister, 
who will not preach more than fifteen minutes, whose 
sermons cannot ofiend the most fastidious, who is faultr 
less in gesture, elegant in diction, and immaculate in 
dress ; a fashionable congregation, luxurious cushions, 
a splendid organ, an accomplished performer, miracu- 
lous singers, a marble pulpit, a high steeple, and a new 
bell, — all these are but a portion of the inducements 
presented by this enterprising church to attract the 
fashionable public to their place of worship. 

We congratulate our readers upon the zeal and pros- 
perity which is visible in this society, and are much 
pleased with their new building, which really leaves in 
the shade all the idol temples where we have heretofore 
worshiped. Diana must look well to her laurels, and 
Jupiter himself must have a care or he will be outdone. 

No one would have suspected that the original Paul- 
ites would ever have made such progress here ; and, 
indeed, this is mainly due to Dr. Demas, who long ago 
separated from Paul on account of his radicalism and 
independence ; and, instead of making tents for a liv- 
ing while preaching Christ and him crucified, has so 
modified his teachings that they are exceedingly accept- 
able and afford him a good living without severe labor ."j* 

* This has been done repeatedly in church fairs. One lady, I am told, got 
t,«n dollars thus in a single evening. 

t Will it be said that ths is sarcasm 7 Though all the facts alluded to 
may not have occurred in a single locality, yet every circumstance mention- 
id can be paralleled, in sad and mournful facts which have occurred and been 
.'ublished as the shame of churches and the taunt of the godless and the 
'>rofane Want of space prevents referring more definitely to them. 



94 Thessalonica : 

Was this the message that sounded out from 
this church ? No, the sound that went forth was 
** the word of the Lord/' That word which was the 
power of God to the salvation of believers, that 
word which dwelt in them richly with all wisdom, 
that word which was wiser than philosophers, truer 
than creeds, more infallible than popes, older than 
councils, greater than opinions, more changeless than 
churches, more mighty than man, — that word sound- 
ed out from the Thessalonian church. Where Paul 
went he heard of their faith and zeal, and when he 
preached I fancy persons would ask him if he wasn't 
of the same faith of those Thessalonians who were 
always talking about Jesus and the resurrection. 
And when Paul could tell them that they were of 
the same family, then they would desire to learn 
something more of the blessed faith which had 
wrought such good results at Thessalonica. 

It seems almost inconceivable how this church 
could have so widely diffused the word of God. 
They must have been very diligent to accomplish 
what they did. The field of their operations was 
quite large. They were ensamples to them that be- 
lieved '' in Macedonia and Achaia,'' a region that 
stretched from the Mediterranean sea, northward 
Bome four hundred miles to the Gliubotin moun- 
tains on the borders of Servia or Moesia, and extend- 
ed in width about two hundred miles, from the 
Archipelago on the east to the Adriatic on the west. 
And the apostle i^itimates that their influence was 



The Model Church, 95 

not circumscribed by these limits : ^^ For from you 
sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Ma- 
cedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your 
faith to God-ward is spread abroad,'' 

By what means and in what manner they gave 
such currency to the Gospel of God, we are not fully 
informed. We know that they lacked many of the 
facilities for the diffusion of truth which are at pres- 
ent enjoyed by the church. They had no printing- 
press. If they wanted a book they must write it. 
Thousands of families now have not a dozen volumes 
in the world, even when a trifle would purchase 
them ; how many books w^ould such persons and 
families be likely to have if they had to write them 
all by hand ? To-day Paul could take an epistle 
to the printing oflSce, and by to-morrow morning he 
could have fifty thousand copies of it printed, and 
in less than a week he could scatter them thousands 
of miles around. Then if he wanted an epistle he 
wrote perhaps a week to make it ; if a copy was de- 
sired, it took another w^eek to prepare that. Now 
probably more copies of Paul's epistles could be 
})rmted in half a day than he could have written 
from his cradle to his grave if he had written dili- 
gently all the time. Hence these Thessalonian 
Chgristians had not a thousandth part of the oppor- 
tunity then that we now have to sound abroad the 
word of God. Let Paul write an epistle now, and 
'f it was considered sufficiently orthodox and impor* 



96 Thessalonica : 

t^nt to pass as a matter of news, the telegraph would 
flash it from one end of the land to the other ; hun- 
dreds of daily papers would have it in print before 
night ; the religious weeklies would reproduce it in 
their next issue, and send it to thousands and mil- 
lions of subscribers ; the Tract Societies would take 
it up, expurgate everything that could give offence 
to evangelical Christians, or which was not calcula- 
ted to meet their approbation, smooth its asperities, 
remove all t^int of sectionalism from it, turn its ar- 
tillery backward at the antediluvians, Sodomites, 
Egyptians, Babylonians, etc., and then send it forth 
by thousands and tens of thousands of copies over 
the land. The railroad car would transport huge 
boxes, the express-man would take small packages, 
and finally the mail-bag would carry smaller parcels 
and single sheets, and, scatter them from its wins^s 
as snow-flakes from the clouds, all over the country. 
Swift steamers would bear them across the sea, and 
there they would be again taken up by all these 
instrumentalities and spread to every land. 

The Thessalonians lacked all these means. Not 
a printing press, newspaper, magnetic telegraph, 
railroad, steamboat, or public mail-route was known 
in the world. If an epistle was to be written they 
wrote it ; if to be copied they copied it ; if to.be 
carried they carried it And yet, with their zeal and 
faith and laborious diligence, they made such suc- 
cessful efforts in the propagation of the Gospel of 



The Model Church. 97 

Christ in the earth, as should shame a proud church 
at the present day whose only sound heard in the 
distance is the mellow music of its fine-toned bell, 
and which is like '^ a city set on an hill that cannot 
be hid '' in respect to its spire only, w^hich, shooting 
far up into the air, is observed from miles around, 
and serves to remind men of the existence of a 
church, which fact may be inferred from the hight 
of its steeply rather than from the moral dignity and 
power, the holy love and zeal of the flock that ga- 
ther to worship beneath its shade. 

From the Thessalonian church ^^ sounded out the 
word of the Lord/' Clear, distinct, like a trumpet 
which gave no '^ uncertain sound,'' came their warn- 
ino: to the ears of men to flee from comino; wrath, 
and to lay hold by faith on coming life and glory. 
Far and wide the sound went forth from town to 
towTi, from city to city, from shore to shore. ^'Not 
only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every 
place," where the journeys of the apostles led them, 
these tidings had fallen on the listening ears of the 
multitude around. How the Thessalonian church 
did all this, I do not pretend to tell. Still some 
things may be inferred as to their course of action. 

First : They were willing that the apostles should 
go on their way and preach to others. They did not 
cling to them as if their presence were life and their 
absence death. They were ready to have them go 
un with their work. They were not so much a dam 

5 



98 Thessalonica : 

to stop the waters of salvation, as a channel to carry 
them along. I doubt not they were as ready to give 
their money or their bread to men who would preach 
the word of God among the destitute and darkened, 
as to those who labored in their own city. Nor were 
they so bound, hand and foot, by the calls made to 
satisfy the demands of clerica] pride and luxury and 
laziness among themselves, that they were only able 
to barely support their own meeting and their own 
laborers, leaving all the rest without assistance or 
care ; and sometimes even then taking better care of 
the idlers than they did of the laborers. "^^ 

Whatever labor in the Gospel they had bestowed 
on them was not performed by an aristocratic, indo- 

* I recollect, as a specimen of more modern doings, my father, whose 
head is now pillowed in the dust, spending nearly a whole winter laboring 
in a revival in the M. E Church, in Westfield, Mass. ; being absent from 
home about all the time ; barely returning to change his clothes ; hiring 
men to do his own work at home ; the while depriving the writer, who was 
then a lad, of much of his winter schooling to attend to the chores about the 
farm. After he had labored some three months in connection with other 
preachers, and many were converted, about one hundred joined the church, 
and, on the strength of these accessions, they built a new meeting-house, 
with a tall steeple. But such were the financial arrangements of the con- 
cern, that while the others took good care of " the bag," he received from 

one rich man, Mr. H , for his winter's work, one dollar- s worth of maple 

sugar I others laboring in the revival divided the "spoils." One of the 
ministers, to use the words of one of his associate preachers, Rev. Mr. 
S— — e, " would smoke that worth of cigars in a week.^' 1'hey went about 
in good style : and my father having probably done more labor than any 
of them, being too independent to beg, but not too lazy to dig, returned to 
his old mountain farm, to gain by the severest toil and strictest econo- 
my bread and clothing for his famiJy, until, worn out with labor, he sank 
prematurely into the grave. When Grod reckons with the M. B. Church at 
W., and many other places, they may learn what is meant by the words, 
*' The laborer is worthy of his hire." 

The writer hopes, at some future time, if God permits, to present a sketch 
of the labors of his paternal ancestors, who, for four generations, have 
preaehed the word of God, and struggled against civil and ecclesiastical 
tyranny. 



The Model Church. 99 

lent, and purse-proud clergy. The men who preach- 
ed among them the word of God, could endure 
privations if need be. Nor did these Thessalonian 
Christians contribute their money to buy cigars and 
tobacco and brandy for their ministers^ nor gold and 
jewels and purple and splendor for their wives and 
children."* Nor did ministers of Christ then counte- 
nance and encourage their families in decking them- 
selves '^ with gold, and silver, and pearls, and costly 
array," thus squandering in sinful extravagance the 
means that should have been devoted to a nobler and 
holier purpose. 

Paul and his associates were self-denying preach- 
ers, and they gathered at Thessalonica a self-denying 
flock. And by this denying themselves of luxury and 
splendor they saved the time and strength and means 
which others wasted, to devote to the good cause of 
God. And there was no lack of means among them, 
I am sure, if they thus watched and labored for 
God's glory. 

And among the churches which to-day complain 
of poverty and need, which pass contribution plates 
to beg for cents in church three times on Sunday, 
which sell the seats in God's house to the his^hest 
bidder for gold, which employ their keenest men 
and most winning women to coax subscriptions out 

* In the Baltimore Metbodist Conference, Rev. R. Cadden stated that 
two hundred preachers of that body chewed tobacco, and one hundred of 
thetn smoked cigars, all of them expending S6,000 per year ; which, he 
said, would support two missionaries to Chma."— Jnz^i- Tobdcco Journal. 



100 Thessalonica : 

of all they find that can give a shilling, which em- 
ploy fairs, grab'bags, lotteries, and barefaced gam- 
blers' tricks to supply all means that are still lacking, 
I presume there is not a church that does not spend 
more for tea and coffee and opium and rum and to- 
bacco, than all that it gives or collects and contri- 
butes professedly to '^ the cause of Grod." The Ameri- 
can church spends thousands of dollars for tobacco, 
where it spends hundreds for missions. The preach- 
ers set the ungodly ex;ample ; the deacons and 
leaders imitate them ; and the flock rush headlong 
over the broad and dangerous road. You may re- 
buke them for it, and they will puff their smoke into 
your face, or roll their quids in their mouths, smile 
at your estimates of expense, and go off and beg from 
widows and orphans pennies to spend for tobacco and 
cigars. And this, while the hungry cry for bread, 
and the naked for raiment ; while within a stone's 
throw every dollar is needed to feod and clothe, to 
teach and elevate, to civilize and convert the heath- 
enish hordes that throng them on every hand, and 
who only imitate their public vices, and forget their 
more private virtues which they need to learn. ^^ 

* A Christian friend was once talking with a Methodist minister about 
using tobacco. They got on very quietly for a while, the brother making 
no reference to a pipe which he had observed lying near, until the preach- 
er's little boy spoke up, " Pa chews and smokes too." " Sh — hush !" 
gaid the clerical furaigator, who then proceeded to speak on the subject in 
a more personal strain. A Baptist minister of my acquaintance usually 
has hundreds if not thousands of cigars on hand. His lungs are weak, and 
his throat troubles him. Under the inspiration of a fragrant Havana he 
prepares his seimons, and preaches to his people of " righteousness, tem- 
perance^ and a judgment to come." His wife, whom he loves " as his own 
body," freq^uently gets sick with the fumes of the poisonous weed, and I 
myself have had a headache sometimes from the same cause. 



The Model Church. 101 

No such people or church can effectually and fully 
sound out the word of the Lord. It requires men 
made of different material, and trained in a different 
school. 

Secondly : Doubtless the Thessalonian church 
sounded out the word of the Lord from their public 
meetings for divine worship and mutual edification. 
Of course they^ like the Corinthians, had that liberty 
of prophesying which is accorded to all believers in 
this dispensation. Like them they no doubt im- 
proved the privilege bestowed. And ''if all pro- 
phesy/' we know what is the usual result. When, 
aided by the Holy Spirit, the whole church, having 
come together into one place, have each an exhor- 
tation, a psalm, and a doctrine ; the unbeliever 
coming in is convinced of all, he is judged of all ; 
and thus the secrets of his heart are made manifest, 
and falling upon his face he worships God, and re- 
ports that God is with them of a truth. In this 
way the word of God would evidently be sounded 
out. As, one after another, the Jews and Greeks 
came in and were brouo-ht to the knowledc^e of the 
truth, and to the faith of the Son of God, the tid- 
ings would be conveyed abroad ; new inquirers 
would gather to hear, and new converts would attest 
the power of Jesus' love and grace. Possibly the 
rumor of their worship might excite curiosity, and 
some one from adjacent regions would say, ^' We 
would like to hear of Jesus and the resurrection/' 



102 TTiessalonica : 

Andj responding to the call, some would go out, 
full of faith and prayer and power, and preach sal- 
vation in the regions round about. And when, in 
the dwelling of some inquirer, they preached the 
word of God, the heathen would crowd around to 
listen ; and while some mocked and blasphemed, 
others would repent and turn to God ; while some 
were mad, some careless, ajid some glad, a few would 
receive the word in good and honest hearts ; and in 
this way they could sound out the word of the 
Lord. No doubt 'they were a sign, a proverb, a 
nine-days' wonder, and a town's talk ; but God was 
with them, and they rejoiced in all reproaches, so He 
was glorified. 

Thirdly : The Thessalonian Christians were liv- 
ing epistles, known and read of all men. It has 
been said, " We need a new translation of the 
Bible.'' So we do ; and we need a translation 
which shall not confine itself to a few terms and 
phrases, but which shall take the words, which are 
'' spirit and life," out from their paper winding- 
sheets and paste-board coffins, and render them 
into the warm, vivid, palpable realities of flesh and 
blood. We need to have the Bible translated into 
the lives of Christian men and women ; so that it 
shall not be dead in forms and cold in creeds and 
chilling in ceremonies, but so that it shall be living, 
fervid, genial, and hearty, as seen in the holy lives, 
the noble actions of those who are born from above, 



The Model Church. 103 

and in whom this word remains as an incorruptible 
seed, which liveth and abideth for ever. 

And this is a translation of the Bible into a 
tongue which all can understand. Many cannot 
read the written word. Many do not seem to under- 
stand the plainest statements of Scripture. But is 
there a huno;rv man who cannot understand bread ? 
or a naked one who will need a commentary to ex- 
plain clothing ? Let the hungry be fed, the naked 
clothed, the houseless sheltered, and the bowed 
down lifted up ; and then the common people, aye, 
the io-norant and deD:raded, will read the truths ol 
Grod's Bible, as written in the lives of his saints. 
And they will be sure that the religion of such per- 
sons makes everybody better and nobody worse. 

I imagine that widows blessed the Thessalonians 
for their kindness, and orphans thanked them for 
their care. The sick learned to love the hand that 
brought a cup of cold water to their parched lips, 
and bathed and soothed the aching, feverish brow, 
and learned with deepest interest^, from those who 
only spoke in tones of love, the tidings of *' the 
water of life," and the news of the bright and death- 
less land, where Christ shall ever reign. 

One man bringing Christianity in the shape of 
loaves of bread to hungry souls, would make more 
impression on the needy, for their good, than he 
could with a bushel of books, catechisms, and Bi- 
les. Bread first, then prayers and preaching. On<-^ 



104 . Thessalonica : 

Dorcas/^" making coats and garments for the poor^ 
would do more to commend Christianity to those 
who would stand weeping around her corpse, show- 
ing the work that she had done, than a dozen courtly- 
ladies, with their rustling silks and glistening satins, 
with their laces and furs, their gold and jewels, 
who are too lofty to condescend to men of low 
estate, and who know not how to sympathize with 
the poor and the distressed. And I doubt not the 
Thessalonians had just this kind of commendation 
among the candid and honest people where they 
dwelt. 

Sometimes when I pass along the crowded streets 
of New York I see a little boy, or some infirm and 
shabby-looking old man, who wears above his clothes 
a long garment, upon which is painted, before and 
behind, the advertisement or business card of some 
manufacturer or merchant. All who pass read it 
and observe it from the strangeness of its position. 
So these persons go up and down, exhibiting at every 
step a notice of their employer and his works. They 
are ^'living epistles,'' but not more so than true 
Christians should be. Christ should be written 

* Dorcas : "This woman was full of good works and alms deeds which 
fcLe did And it came to pass that she was sick, and died . . . and they laid 
ter in an upper chamber. When Peter was come, they brought him into 
the upper chamber : and all the widows stood b}'^ him i;veeping, and showing 
the coats and garments which Dorcas mode, while she was with them," 
Acts ix. 36-40. My fair reader, if you should lie in your coffin, and friends 
should gather around you, Avould widows and orphans show the coats and 
p^arments you had made for the poor 7 or would they show your jewels, 
vuar embroidery, your pictures, your worsted dogs and cats, your orna- 
t: .fnts of fancy needlework, on which you have squandered your time and 
ci:Miath ind money 7 Please think of this. 



The Model Church. 105 

on them within and without ; and in their looks, 
their words, and their acts, Christ and his love 
should shine forth. As they walk the highways and 
by-ways of life. Christ's glory should be manifest in 
them, and they should bear .about his marks and 
his dying continually with them. Thus the Thes- 
salonians did ; and hence, from them sounded out 
the word of the Lord. 

And when they traveled they talked of Christ ; 
and when they traded they taught men also to 
'' buy the truth and sell it not ;'' and when they 
wrote epistles, they put in them some of those 
words of life which had been to them the beginning 
of immortality. Their light was not adapted to 
beds and bushels — it was on a candlestick. I fancy 
I see one of them in the market-place, conversing 
with some old philosopher, pouring the light of 
God, like floods of sunshine, through his fogs and 
clouds of theory and mystery, and cutting up by 
the roots his ^' vain philosophy'' and sublime non- 
sense, with the simple message of Jesus and the 
resurrection ; the tidings of him who, coming bodily 
from the g-rave, had '^ abolished death and brouo:hfc 
life and immortality to light in the Gospel." And 
while systems fall and philosophies wither at the 
Christian's living words, he yet speaks so kindly, so 
truly and so meekly that it is vain to be angry, and 
idle to be arrogant. And so, in public and in pri- 
vate, at home and abroad, in the haunts of business 

5^ 



106 Thessalonica : 

and in the circles of friendship, from them " sounded 
out the word of the Lord." 

Whatever may have been the means, the end was 
attained. The work was done and done effectually. 
The results are matters of record. From them the 
processes may be inferred. The word of the Lord 
sounded out from them, not onlv in Macedonia and 
Achaia, but also in every place their faith to God- 
ward was spread abroad. In this respect, were they 
not a model church ? 0, that others might imitate 
them in their missionary zeal and love. 



The Model Church. 107 



CHAPTER VII. 

Faith of the Thessalonian Church. "No matter what we Be- 
lieve." Wrong Faith causes Wrong Action. Faith and Hope precede 
Labor. Turning from Idols. Covetousness. Lust. Pride. Serv- 
mg God. Waiting for His Son from Heaven. " I will Come 
Again." The Reunion. The Crown of Rejoicing at His Coming* 
The Heart Established. Christian Perfection. Sanctifioation. 
Unblameableness in Holiaess. At the Coming of our Lord Jesus^ 
Perfected Through Sufferings. Trials and Storms. Moment- 
ary A-ction. Type-setting. Correction. '' Proof." Falling. — 
Peter, Stereotyping. Established for Eternity. At the Coming 
of Christ. Apostolic Consolations. Not without Hope. Jesus 
and the Resurrection. Them that Sleep. The Lord Himself 
shall Descend. We shall not go Before, The Ingathering. So 
shall we ever be with the Lord. The Times and the Seasons. 
Peace and Safety. The Day of the Lord. Sudden Destruction. 
Entire Sanctification. Full Salvation. Spirit and Soul and 
Body. The whole Being Renewed. At the Coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. This was their Faith. It made them a Model 
Church. Should we not Imitate their Faith and Works 1 

Among the characteristics of the Thessalonian 
church may be found their faith and hope ; and 
these were in many respects different from the faith 
and hope of professing Christians at the present time. 
This difference was marked, and was such that it 
was, no doubt, an efficient cause of their exemplary 
and noble character. 

At the present time many will tell you, '' It is no 



108 Thessalonica : 

matter what you believe if your hearts are right/' 
Whether they are in earnest or not, you will soon 
learn if you presume to question the correctness of 
their peculiar notions. But while it may be safely 
admitted that a knowledge of the truth cannot save 
any one without a corresponding course of life, — a 
walking in the truth, — yet it is certain that wron^^ 
thinking tends to wrong action, in proportion as it 
is pushed to its legitimate and logical results. Let 
us then devote a chapter or two t^ an examination 
of some peculiarities which appear in the faith ©f 
this model church. 

The Thessalonian Christians held, beside the com- 
mon sentiments which have already b^en alluded to, 
other important truths ; and among these we shall 
see that one grand fact — the glorious return of their 
Lord from heaven — stood forth with great promi- 
nence, as the epistles to them very plainly intimate. 

While speaking of the reputation of this church 
throughout the nation, which was caused by their 
sounding out the word of the Lord, Paul says, "For 
they themselves show of us, what manner of enter- 
ing in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God 
froni idols, to serve the living and true God, and to 
WAIT FOR HIS Son from heaven ; whom he raised 
from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from 
the wrath to come." 1 Thess. i : 9-10. 

The Thessalonian church had turned from idols— 
from every idol. And herein they differed from many 



I 



The Model Church. 109 

others. Notwithstanding the apostle's admonition, 
'^Little children, keep yourselves from idols/' not 
withstanding the fact that idolatry is supposed to 
pertain only to the dark places and nations of hea- 
thendom, yet there are idols and idolators all around 
us. For, whenever any thing comes to stand between 
the soul and God. that thing is an idol. Whether 
it be from within or without, from earth or from hell, 
it is an idol, and its service is idolatry. 

There are many who give money to convert the 
heathen from idolatry, who are idolators themselves. 
For, is not covetousness idolatry ? Is not worship- 
ing and serving the creature more than the Creator 
idolatry ? Is not bowing the soul to the shrine of 
lust, ambition, appetite, pleasure, and gain, an idol- 
atry as damnable as that of Moloch of old ? 

Ah ! there are many who would not worship a 
"golden image'' which Nebuchadnezzar erected, who 
would yet worship a golden eagle which men have 
coined. Many who would not adore a ^^ silver shrine^' 
will yet worship a silver dollar. Many there are who 
pity the heathen who in his blindness b6ws down to 
wood and stone, and yet their souls bow before mar- 
ble piles and brown-stone palaces, and granite man- 
sions ; and, to gain them, they seem to sink manhood 
and forget the Godhead. For, when men worship 
at the shrine of wealth, how abject is their abase- 
ment ! They will sometimes sell their manhood for 
a shilling, and their generosity and fairness for an 



110 Thessalonica : 

odd half cent. Yet they, with piles of rusting silver 
and hoards of cankered gold, with houses unused and 
lands untilled, with eyes blind to suffering and ears 
deaf to entreaty and misery, will pity the heathen in 
their idolatry, and darkness, and sin. With souls 
soaked in narcotics, with systems full of poisons and 
stimulants, they will yet sing — 

" The dearest idol I have known, 

Whatever that idol be, 
Help me to tear it from Thy throne, 

And worship only Thee !" 

They will speak of Christian perfection, while 
their bodies, the ^^ temples of the Holy Grhost/' are 
soaked with tobacco juice from head to foot. They 
will talk of entire sanctification under the inspira- 
tion of a nauseous cigar, and argue about holiness 
of heart while rolling their quid like a sweet morsel 
under their tongues, and squirting tobacco juice in 
pools in their holy ^^ sanctuary,'' around the altar of 
prayer, or in the very consecrated pulpit itself They 
will profess'the enjoyment of perfect love, the know- 
ledge of their election of God, and the full assurance 
of faith, when they could not have one good prayer- 
meeting without the stimulus of a strong cup of tea, 
and when, if deprived of opium, snuff, or tobacco, 
they would fall into ^' condemnation and darkness '' 
before night, have the horrors for a month, and be 
80 cross and fretful that their families could hardly 



The Model Church. Ill 

live in the hoiisve with them.^''' Do such persons 
know what manner of spirit they are of ? Is not 
this a most debasing idolatry ? 

The Thessalonians had turned from idols to serve 
the living and the true God. And what is it to serve 
God ? Is it merely to pray, to sing, and be happy, 
and be saved ? Is not this God serving us ? 

Suppose I find a man drunken, homeless, wretch- 
ed, ragged, hungry, and forlorn, and take him to 
my house. He is an outcast : and I take him in. 
He is homeless : I make him a home. He is hun- 
gry : I feed him. He is ragged : I clothe him. 
And when he eats my bread, weai^ my clothes, and 
lives in my house, is that serving me ? I think not. 
I am serving him. But when I tell him, ^' Go, do 
my work ; go, feed those who look to me for bread ; 
go, watch over those who are the objects of my care , 
go, do good to all around on my behalf,'' — then if 
he fulfills my requests and devotes himself entirely 
to my service he is serving me. 

Thus the Christian who serves the living God is 
not entirely occupied with his feelings, his joys, his 
frames, and his frailties ; he is serving God, not 
himself. And his own ease and his own work are to 
him a matter of secondary importance. He has no 
doubt that God loves him and will take good care of 

* Does it hit 7 Well, I mean it shall. God speed it to your consciences : 
if they are not seared as with an hot iron it may be your salvation. "Can't 
leave it off 7" That's a great word for aman to use. Cry to Grod for help. 
He can hear you '-out of the belly of hell." " Break oflf your sins by 
righteousness and your iniquities by turning to the Lord." 



112 ^ TliessaZonica ; 

him ; but his chief concern is to keep himself in the 
love of God and be diligent in the service of so good 
a Master. This was the work^of the Thessalonian 
church. They turned from idols ; and they served 
God!^ 

And wa^ this all ? By no means. For the Gos- 
pel of Christ comprises three general classes of things. 
First: things to be believed. Second: things to be 
done. Third: things to be looked for. And these 
brethren at Thessalonica had received a whole Gospel. 

They turned from idols ^' to serve the living and 
true God, and to wait for his Son froni heaven.'' 
Waiting implies expectation and readiness. They 
expected and were prepared for the appearance of 
their heavenly Master when he should come. Upon 
this passage Dr. James Mac knight well remarks : 

'^Christ himself on two different occasions pro- 
mised that he would return from heaven. Matt. xvi. 
27 ; John xvi. 3. The angels, likewise, who attend- 
ed at his ascension, foretold that he will return, 
Acts L 11. And, as the great design of his retJim 
is to punish his enemies and reward his faithful ser- 
vants, his second coming was always a principal 
topic on which the apostles insisted in their dis- 
courses ; consequently it was a principal article of 
the faith and hope of the first Christians, a frequent 
subject of their conversation, and a powerful source 
of consolation to them in all their afflictions and 
troubles. May it ever be the object of our faith and 



The Model Church. 113 

hope, and the source of our consolation, especially 
at death/' 

These remarks illustrate the character of the Thes- 
salonians. Their faith rested not in mere principles 
and abstractions- It was set in Grod, and in Christ, 
for whose appearing they longed so earnestly. For, 
as prophets and patriarchs desired to see the day of 
Christ and saw it in the dim distance and were glad ; 
as Anna and Simeon of old waited for the consola- 
tion of Israel, and longed with deep desire for the 
day to come when he should appear on earth ; so, 
since he has come and departed again, leaving to his 
church the promise of his return at the end of the 
age, the heart of the loyal and faithful Christian 
turns again to him and longs to see him once more 
in the splendor of his supreme royalty as really and 
as visibly as earth has already seen him in his habili- 
ments of sorrow and shame. 

Hence, in this hope the church at Thessalonica 
waited ^'for the Son of Grod from heaven, whom he 
raised from the dead, even Jesus, who hath delivered 
us from the wTath to come.'' There can be no 
chance for cavil, figure, or evasion in the words used 
here. It is not the Spirit of God — it is the Son of 
God. It is not the providence of God — it is the Son 
of God. It is not Ann Lee comino; from Eno;land to 
found a Shaker village, or Joe Smith from New 
York to found a Mormon settlement — it is the Son 
of God from heaven. It is not Titus with his army 



114 Thessalonica : 

from Rome, but it is Jesus Christ with his an<:>'elgi 
from heaven. It is not some mysterious spiritual 
manifestation — it is he who was raised from the 
dead, even Jesus which delivered them from the 
wrath to come. 

This was the great goal, the end, the aim, the ob- 
ject of their cheerful hope and strong desire. Around 
it their fondest anticipations gathered with all the 
radiance of unfading light. In that event were 
bound up and comprehended their dearest delights, 
their purest joys, their loftiest aspirations. 

And among these there stands forth prominently 
the glad thought of the saint's reunion in the glo- 
rious day of God. Of this event the apostle thus 
remarks : '^ But we, brethren, being taken from you 
a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the 
more abundantly to see your face with great desire. 
Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I 
Paul, once and again ; but Satan hindered us. For 
what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are 
not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ 
at his COMING ? For ye are our glory and joy/' — 
1 Thess. ii. 17-20. 

Distance might divide and Satan might prevent a 
union here (for Paul had much more trouble with 
him than many who, from some cause, have had so 
little of his opposition as to lead them to deny his 
very existence) ; but, whatever temporary obstacles 
might intervene here, there was one reunion which 



The Model Church, 115 

was sure to occur hereafter. They that here sow in 
tears shall reap in joy. They that are now scattered 
abroad shall be gathered home at last. The tears of 
the sower and the toil of the reaper shall be over. 
And the sheaves shall be brought home with joy by 
him who sowed the seed in bitterness and grief And 
then shall such converts as the Thessalonians be 
^' the hope and joy and crown of rejoicing " of the 
faithful men through whose labors they have been 
led to behold the Lamb of God and wait for him to 
appear in glory. 

And this reunion is not in this age, while the 
flock of God are scattered and torn ; nor is it in the 
grave, or in some fancied spheres, or in some region 
beyond the bounds of time and space. No, the 
meeting is not a meeting of stray spirits wandering 
one by one 'mid realms of ether ; but it is a meeting 
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nor is it 
at death, the death of Paul or the death of the 
Thessalonians ; but the reunion, the joy, the bless- 
ing and the glory is '^ in the presence of our Lord 
Jesus Christ at his coming.'' To this one point 
their eyes seemed constantly directed, and they long- 
ed for the dawning of this day with all the ardor 
with which the soul awaits the coming of a hope 
deferred. Hence they waited '^ for the Son of God 
from heaven." 

The same fact is illustrated by another passage, 
.vhich more than intimates that the full and per- 



116 Thessalonica . 

manent perfection of the saints was onlj to be 
realized at that same time. The apostle, having 
spoken of his praying night and day to see them and 
perfect that which was lacking in their faith, con- 
tinues : " Now God himself and our Father, and our 
Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And 
the Lord make you to increase and abound in love 
one toward another and toward all, even as we do 
toward you : to the end he may stablish your hearts 
unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, 
at the COMING of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his 
saints." 1 Thess. iii : 11-13. I know there is an 
idea that perfection, or holiness of heart, is the fruit 
of praying and crying to God in some protracted 
meeting or revival, when persons seek the blessing 
of sanctification. I would not by any means lay any 
hindrance in the way of those who are striving to 
follow on to know the Lord. Still I fear that they 
either slightly misapprehend the subject, or else use 
some terms in an unscriptural sense, thereby causing 
others to misapprehend it. 

Pardon is the act of God. Consecration is the act 
of man under the influences of divine love. Sancti- 
fication is in one sense the setting apart of the be- 
liever from the service of self and sin and Satan to 
that of God. But sanctification also signifies the 
complete moral purification of the individual Christ- 
ian, the crucifixion of lust, the overthrow of the old 
man, the forming of Christ within the regenerated 



The Model Church. 117 

soul. I should be _^lad to learn that there is some 
royal road^ some sudden passing to this desirable 
condition. But I learn that the Captain of our 
salvation was made perfect through sujfferings. He 
left us an example that we should follow in his steps. 
The ^* furnace of affliction '' purges away the dross 
and base alloy, and brings forth the pure gold. 
The sore tribulations perfect the soul in patience, 
lono^-sufferino:, and love. The rouo;h sea makes the 
good sailor, and the fierce battle the daring soldier. 
And so, in the midst of storms and tempest, of 
tumults and temptations, God makes his people like 
their Head. So he chooses them through sanctifi- 
cation of the Spirit and belief of the tmth. '^ Sanc- 
tify them through thy truth ; thy word is truth,'' 
said the blessed Saviour. And as truth is appre- 
hended, believed and obeyed^ men become sanctified 
by it. 

But the seal of permanency is not yet set to the 
renewed character. There may still be ignorances, 
oversights, and secret faults, even while men are kept 
back by God from presumptuous sins. There are 
daily prayers to be off'ered for the forgiveness of 
trespasses, even when the soul is delivered from 
blood-guiltiness by the mercy of the Most High. 

The Christian life is the product of momentary 
action under the influence of divine gra^e. But as 
every moment has the duty of diligence and watch- 
fulness assigned to it, so every moment has ita 



118 Thessalonica : 

danger, its temptation, and its possibility of doing 
wrong. For the heart is deceitful, the path is slip- 
pery, and the foes are numerous and wise ; and only 
by constant diligence and confidence in God, can 
their malicious arts be foiled. 

The making up of the Christian life is somewhat 
like the making of a page in this book. I prepare 
the manuscript. When it is written, punctuated, 
and corrected, then it passes into the hands of the 
compositor. He puts it in type. But, as each let- 
ter, space, and point is separate from all the rest, 
he must use great care in combining them. He 
must select letter by letter till he has formed a word ; 
then, perhaps, a point to follow it ; then a space to 
separate it from the next word, till he has made a 
line. He must add letter to letter, word to word^ 
and line to line. He must not be careless at all. 
If there are two thousand pieces of metal used in a 
page, then there are two thousand distinct chances 
for errors and mistakes. He may gel a wrong letter, 
or the wrong form of a letter, or the letter may be 
inverted, or a space, a dot, a hyphen, may be mis- 
placed, a word may be wrongly spelt or wrongly 
divided ; and so in various ways errors may occur. 
And if a person has set up many pages correctly, he 
is still liable to make a mistake in the simplest word 
unless he exercises constant care. 

Thus is the Christian life made up of daily life 
made up of daily and hourly and momentary duties, 



The Model Church. 119 

cares, and crosses ; and, unless watchful and careful, 
we are liable to constant mistakes. 

After a page of type is prepared, the compositor 
inks it, lays a piece of paper over it, takes an im- 
pression from it, and that goes to the proof-reader 
and the author. They sit down together. They 
read the page, one holding the copy and the other 
the proof Every error is noted and marked. Every 
broken letter, every misread or misspelt word, every 
thing on the whole page is subjected to the strictest 
scrutiny ; and when all are marked, the proof goes 
back to the compositor. Then he picks out a letter 
here and a point there, and puts another into its 
place. So he goes over the whole page, correcting 
all the errors that are marked. Then he takes a 
second proof, and hands both back. The proof- 
reader goes over it again, looks to see if the errors 
are really corrected, examines for new errors, marks 
all that have been omitted, and returns it for revi- 
sion. In this way the needful degree of accuracy is 
attained. Yet even then a moment's carelessness — 
an unlucky jostle or blow may knock the whole page 
into confusion, or '^piJ' 

Thus it is in the Christian life. We take the 
words and the example of Christ as our copy, and 
then we try to imitate it. But when we come to the 
proof J to the scrutiny, how many errors, deviations, 
neglects, faults, and follies do we find ! Then we 
start to remedy them, and sometimes make others in 



120 Thessalonica : 

the endeavor, and sometimes, by some sad fall, we 
seem to undo all, when we thought all was about 
perfected. Peter knocked down his whole '^form'' 
even after he had bragged so much of the correctness 
of his V70rk and said, ^' Though all men forsake thee 
yet will not I/' A downfall — a denial of his Mas- 
ter, with cursing and swearing — followed swiftly, 
and Peter found himself where he needed to repent 
of his sins, and do his first works again. And is not 
his experience that of multitudes who, while think- 
ing that they stand, forget to take heed lest they 
should fall ? Is there not still lacking in all of us 
that permanency, that establishing of the heart, that 
eternizing of those principles and dispositions and 
elements which now are fleeting and shifting under 
the pressure of temptation and from the instability 
of the human character ? 

When the final correction of the compositor's proof 
is accomplished, then the ^^form" passes into the 
hands of the stereotyper, who makes a plaster mold 
from the page of type, and then casts a metalic plate 
in it ; and this thin plate, when taken out and fin- 
ished up, is found to have every type, letter, figure, 
point, and space stereotyped or cast on its surface, 
so that it can be used, laid away and preserved, 
and the types be employed in other work, while 
the page thus stereotyped remains unchanged for any 
desirable length of time. 

Somewhat like this is the result contemplated m 



The Model Church. 121 

the words of Paul : " That he may stablish your 
hearts unblamable in holiness before God even oar 
Father." Then the saint shall be delivered from 
secret lusts and open foes. Then, no longer per- 
turbed by earth's attractions, the heart's affections 
shall point steadily to Christ the great central pole. 
No more wavering, fainting, or falling. No more 
doubting, fearing, or trembling. No more wander- 
ing, sinning, or erring. All will be secure, and that 
for ever. 

And when is it that God shall set this seal of his 
own approval upon the heart of the saint ? When 
shall this weary soul enter into its perfect and eter- 
nal rest ? When shall the pardoned ones ^tand un- 
blamable in holiness before God even our Father ? 
Is it in this life ? No. Is it at death ? No. Is 
it is the spheres where spirits wander ? No. It is 
'^ at the COMING of our Lord Jesus Christ with all 
his saints J' This was the day of their anticipated 
perfection — their entire acquittal, and their perma- 
nent establishment, unblamable in holiness before 
God. 

The '' saints '' or holy ones (hagioi), are not men; 
for, when Christ appears some of his people will cer- 
tainly be here to meet him ; and the holy ones are 
spoken of as distinct from the Thessalonians who are 
among the saints of the Lord. The term saint or 
holy one is applied repeatedly in Scripture to those 
holy angels which do the bidding of the Lord and 



122 Thessalonica : 

which shall attend him at his coming. Hence, Mac- 
knight renders this expreSvsion, ^^ at the coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ with all his 1k)ly angels." 
Upon which he remarks as follows : ^' We are told, 
Matt xvi. 27 ; XXV. 31 ; 1 Thess. iv. 16, that the 
angels will attend Christ when he comes to judg- 
ment. These are called holy ones on account of 
their ]:>erfect purity, Deut. xxxiii. 2 ; Zech. xiv. 5. 
They are likewise called his holy myriads, Jude 
14. It is of them, and not of the righteous, that 
the apostle here speaks ; for the righteous will not 
appear till they are raised from the dead, and so 
cannot come with Christ from heaven. . . .The de- 
sign of Christ in coming to judgment is to complete 
the kind design of his first appearance. Then he 
came to put mankind in the way of salvation : now 
he will appear to bestow that salvation on the heirs 
thereof, by a solemn sentence pronounced in the 
hearing; of the assembled universe. G-od o:rant that 
we may be among those whom Christ's sentence shall 
establish unblamable in holiness, and who shall go 
with him to heaven. '^ 

From this passage we see one reason why the 
Thessalonians looked with such intense desire for 
that day as for the goal of Christian hope, the end 
of faith, and the beginning of immortal perfection. 
Conversion was not sufficient ; growth in grace was 
not enough ; earthly sanctification was incomplete ; 
death still left them imperfect ; and nothing could 



The Model Church. 123 

suffice but the establishment of their hearts in blame- 
less holiness before God even our Father, ^' at the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his holy 
angels/' 

Towards this same sublime event the apostle again 
directs their faith as a consolation in their affliction. 
They had seen their friends laid prostrate by the 
hand of death, and they were naturally filled with 
fear. They had hoped to have seen them live until 
the incoming of the deathless age. But they had 
died. Hence a need arose of comfort, of consolation. 
That he might bestow this consolation he wrote on 
this wise : '' Now I would not have you to be 
ignorant, brethren, concerning them who sleep, that 
ye may not be grieved, even as the others, who have 
no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died, and 
rose again ; so, also, them who sleep in Jesus will 
God bring with him. Besides, this we affirm to you 
by the command of the Lord, that we the living, who 
remain at the coming of the Lord, shall not antici- 
pate them who are asleep : for the Lord himself 
will descend from heaven with a shout, with the 
voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God : 
and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Afterwards, 
we, the living who remain, shall at the same time 
with them, be caught up in clouds, to join the Lord 
in the air : and so we shall be for ever with the Lord. 
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.'' 
1 Thess. iv. 13, 18. — Mackmghfs Translation, 



124 Thesscdonica : 

Thijs is tlio C'^nsolation which Paul ministered to 
the afflicted church of God. I shall not here at- 
tempt an enlarged exposition of this passage, as I 
trust that the Lord may soon enable me to lay be* 
fore the reader, a more extended work upon the sub- 
ject. ^^ A few things^ however, cannot but be noted 
here 

First: Others — the heathen world, with all their 
boasted and fancied philosophy, their notions of pre- 
existenoe, their whims of transmigration, and their 
dreams and fables of eternity and immortality, were 
ignorant concerning those who had died ; and in 
their ignorance and darkness they sorrowed having 
no hope. This is the exact truth concerning the 
heathen world. Their greatest pleaders for immor- 
tality doubted the correctness of their own air-drawn 
theories ; and well they might, for they were utter- 
ly destitute of proof f 

Second: Paul would not have the Thessalonians 

* " The Perfect State ; or, Forever with the Lord/' containing a discussion 
of many important passages relating to the iatermedlate and the final state 
of the redeemed. 

t It is a noteworthy fact that Cicero's first book of the Tusculan Disputa- 
tions, which iB usually called his work on the immortality of the soul, might 
ai5 pixDperly be termed a work on the mortality of the scul. Its title is, '' De 
Contemnenda Morte," or the Contempt of Death. A main burden of the 
argument is, that in the oblivion of death no evil cea come to man. The 
title, " On the Contiempt of Death," is suggestive, for de«th is the penalty of 
sin, God's seal of disapprobation placed upon a transgre^vdng race. We can 
easily see how he who by his lies led our first parents to rontemn God's law 
would by other lies lead their descendants to contemn bi< T:^enalty. To the 
former he said, Ye shall not surely die: to the latter he \ blared, Even if you 
die it wlU do you no harm. And in later and revised editions of the original 
falpehood, we are taught that "Death is the gate to endless joy," or the 
portal to some *' spirit sphere." 



The Model Church. 125 

thus ignorant and thus filled with deep and hopeless 
grief. Hence he would teach them the truth, the 
exact truth, and that special truth which was adapt- 
ed to their ajfflicted condition. Consequently, if we 
learn what Paul taught here we shall not be igno- 
rant concerning those who have died in the Lord. 

Third : He lays down as a foundation of consoling 
truth the fact of the death and resurrection of Jesus 
the Son of jGrod. '^If we believe that Jesus died 
and rose again/' if we are sure of this^ then there is 
comfort. '^ For if Christ be not raised, then they 
also that have fallen asleep in Christ have perished'^ 
All rests upon this fact ; all the building is founded 
upon this chief comer- stone laid in Zion, — a resur- 
rected and glorified Christ. 

Fourth : The consolation pertains to the founda- 
tion, as does a conclusion to a premise, or an argu- 
ment to a fact. If we believe that Jesus died and 
rose again, even so — in the same manner — " them 
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." 
This is the consolation. Many understand the pas- 
sage as if it said, " Even so them also which sleep 
in Jesu^ will Jesus bring loith himself when he 
eoraes.'' But it does not say so. Others seem to un- 
derstand it, '^ Them that sleep in Jesus, will God 
bring with himself at his appearing.' ' But it does 
not say so. The persons to be brought are those 
'' that sleep in Jesus.'' The one who brings them 
is God. The one with w^hom they are to be brought 



126 Thessalonica : 

by God is Jesus. And the maDner in which they 
are to be brought — the " even so " — is " as Jesus 
died and rose ag:ain/' The God of peace ^' brought 
again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
great Shepherd of the sheep ;" and even so — as God 
brought Christ, the Head of the body, from death — 
even so he shall bring with him from the grave all 
who sleep in him. Those who sleep in Jesus are 
not in heavenly glory, and so cannot be brought from 
heaven by Christ, when he comes ; for then those 
who ^^ sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.'^ 
Their sleep is here, not there. Hence, the comfort 
is not this indirect consolation, which intimates that 
they shall come from heaven, leaving you to infer 
that they are there now ; but it is direct and posi- 
tive : they shall be brought with Christ from the 
darkness of the grave, from the land of the enemy, 
he being ^' the first fruits of them that slept/' If 
Paul had begun his argument with the assertion of 
faith in the inherent immortality of man, — if he had 
said, " Since we believe that the righteous have de- 
parted to be with Christ in glory,"* — his theme of 
consolation would have been entirely changed. But 
of such consolations he said nothing. It was not 
deaths it was resurrection which inspired his heart. 
Fifth : He illustrates and explains the manner 

* For a thorough expoeition and a corrected tratislation of Phil. i. 23, 
'' Having a desire to depart," etc., the reader \s referred to the pages of 
*• The Perfect State ; or, For Ever with the Lord." (Nearly ready.) 



The Model CMirch. 127 

of this consummation, which has been thus gener- 
ally stated, by the word or command of the Lord. 
Paul, having either received this statement among 
the things which Christ had declared while here, 
or else, having obtained it by direct inspiration, was 
able to say by the special command or inspiration of 
the Lord — for the consolation of the living, who 
supposed that the dead had lost their portion in the 
glory of the warld to come — that " we who are alive 
and remain unto the comino- of the Lord shall not 
prevent (or go before) them that are asleep." The 
old English word prevent^ like the Latin words from 
which it came, signified, when the Bible was trans- 
lated, anticipate or outstrip. So the Grreek word 
phthoMein signifies '^ to be beforehand with ; to out- 
strip, precede, or get before another in a race or 
journey.'' And Dr. Greorge Benson thus paraphrases 
this passage : " Such of us Christians as shall be 
found alive upon this earth, when Christ comes to 
the general judgment, shall not be made glorious 
^d happy before those who sleep the sleep of 
death.'' 

Some have inferred, from the use of the pronoun 
^' we," that Paul Amse^ expected to live till that day. 
Bat there is no good reason for this construction. He 
certainly wrote to the Thessalonians, that the day 
of Christ could not come until an apostasy had pre- 
ceded it. The same~^mode of expression is common 
when speaking of nations and peoples. See Deut. 



128 Thessalonica : 

XXX. 1 ; John vi. 32. Paul was speaking of the 
church, and for the church, which was one body, 
one flock, one army, one nation, one people. We 
who serve Grod, we who are alive and remain to that 
day, shall not go to glory before those who sleep in 
Jesus. 

If it be true that those who ^^ sleep in Jesus'' arc 
already in glory, what is the sense, propriety, or 
coherence of such a statement as this ? " We that 
live till Jesus comes, shall not get to glory before 
those who are there now and have been for years !-' 
Ah, Paul did not write such nonsense as this. His 
writings may be obscure, but they are not foolish. 
His teachings amount simply to this : Our friends 
who sleep in Christ are not in glory yet, but they 
will, nevertheless, get there as soon as we do. We 
shall have no precedence in that day. 

Sixth : The reason why the living will have no 
precedence, or will not outstrip those who sleep in 
Christ, is plain from the succinct relation which fol- 
lows of the order of events in that day. '' For the 
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the 
trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise 
first : then we which are alive and remain shall be 
caught up together *vith them in the clouds, to 
meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be 
with the Lord.'' 

This is the manner : The Lord descends with a 



The Model Church. 129 

shout, with archangel-voice, and with the trumpet's 
sound. The dead in Christ arise. Those" Christ- 
ians who are yet alive are then caught up, together 
with those who are raised from the dead, in the 
clouds, and there they all ^^ meet the Lord in the 
air/' ^* the Son of God from heaven/' for whose 
coming they have waited so long. Paul then be- 
holds the Thessalonians ^' in the presence of our 
Lord Jesus Christ at his coming." Their hearts are 
established then '^ at the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ wdth all his holy angels. '' There they have 
their reunion. There they meet to part no more. 
There the sorrows of death are forgotten in the joys 
of unendino' life. There, in that wav, in that man- 
ner, even ''so'' shall they ever be with the Lord. 
This is their strong consolation : '' Wherefore, com- 
fort one another with these words." Blessed com- 
fort. Shall any one change it ? Can any one 
improve it ? Alas, at many a funeral now, not one 
word of this consolation is given. They do not say 
to a weeping Mary, '' Thy brother shall rise again," 
but, '•' Thy brother is noio in heaven!' They do 
not say, We that live till Jesus comes shall not go 
before those who sleep ; but they do say, that those 
who sleep have already gone before us. They do 
not say, The Lord himself shall descend to gather 
us, but they do say, We shall die and ascend to 
live for ever in heaven with him. Thus do modern 
preachers differ from apostolic preachers, and their 

r3* 



130 Thessalonica : 

churcheh also differ from the Thessalooian church. 
Preaching and practice are alike far from that of 
the '^ model church." But is it not safe to give the 
v^omfort which Paul prescribed ? Is it safe to give 
any other consolation ? Shall v^e not thereby 
•glorify death^ the greafc enemy, rather than Christ 
his conqueror and destroyer ? Is it not better to 
trust in him who is the resurrection and the life ? 

Thus did the Thessalonians trust, and I doubt not 
that their faith in these glorious realities was one of 
the elements of living, quickening power which tend« 
ed to make them a "- model church.'' 

If we pursue the apostle's argument, we shall see 
that he continues to write still further with reference 
to this great and grand event, the appearing of the 
Lord, as follows : ^^ But of the times and seasons, 
brethren^ ye have no need that I write unto you. For 
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord 
so Cometh as a thief in the night. For when they 
shall say. Peace and safety, then sudden destruction 
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with 
child ; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, 
are not in darkness, that that day should overtake 
you as a thiel Ye are all the children of light and 
the children of day : we are not of the night, nor of 
darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others ; 
but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, 
sleep in the night ; and they that be drunken, are 
drunken in the nio;ht. But let us who are of the 



Tlie Model Church. 131 

day be sober, putting on the breast-plate of faith 
and love ; and for an helmet the hope of salvation. 
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to ob- 
tain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died 
for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should 
live together with him. Wherefore comfort your- 
selves together, and edify one another, even as also 
ye do," 1 Thess. v. 1-11. 

In the concluding portion of this consolatory argu- 
ment, there are several particulars worthy of our at- 
tention. We may note the following : 

First : He need not instruct them concerning: the 
times and definite seasons connected with this event, 
for further information concerning these was not 
necessary for them. Second : They also knew them- 
selves, both from his own teachings and from the 
words of Christ, that the day of the Lord was to 
come in an unexpt^cted hour, when men were not 
looking for it. Third : It would not only be in an 
unexpected hour, but also in an hour when the wick- 
ed world would expressly deny all prospect of its 
coming, would say, *' Peace and safety,'' and lull 
themselves in the profoundest possible slumber. — 
Fourth : Their doom should be a terrible and sudden 
destruction, coming upon them like the pangs of 
child-birth, -overwhelming them in utter desolation, 
from which they could not escape. Fifth : The 
church of Grod, the brethren, were not in darkness. 
Notwithstanding their ignorance of the precise times 



132 Thessalonica : 

and seasons of the coming of Jesus, they were not in 
darkness that that day should overtake them as a 
thief, from the fact that they were all children of the 
light and of the day, and were not of the night nor 
of darkness. Sixth : They were exhorted not to 
give way to the general slumber and carelessness, 
but to watch and be sober, because sleep and riot 
and drunkenness befitted the night and the darkness 
rather than the day and the light. Seventh : He 
exhorted them to arm themselves for conflict while 
they watched, putting on the breast-plate of faith 
and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 
This breast-plate was to defend them, and this hope 
would inspire them in their conflicts and the tedium 
of their weary watch. And this hope they might 
well cherish, for God had not appointed them to 
that wrath which awaits the ungodly, but to obtain 
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Eighth : 
The death of Christ for us was for this purpose, that 
those who sleep in Christ, or live till his appearing, 
may all be saved in his glory together. He died and 
rose and revived again that he might be Lord both 
of the dead and the living. He " died for us, that 
whether we wake or sleep we may live together with 
him ;" or, in the words of Dr. Geo. Benson, '^ that 
whether we be found awake, or alive, when he cometh 
to judgment ; or whether we die before that time, 
and are raised again ; we may live forever with him 
in perfect ^lory and happiness/' Ninth : In conclu- 



The Model CJmrch. 133 

sion he directs them, since they have such consoling- 
hopes, to exhort, or comfort, and edify, or build up, 
one another ; and he bears testimony that they do 
this already. This was their comfort, and they were 
able to administer it to each other while apostles and 
preachers were far away. 

For, this abundant cpnsolation of the people of 
God when possessed by the church, this certainty 
that we are not in darkness, this unceasino: viofilance 
which is needful that the day of Grod come not upon 
us unawares, are all calculated to prepare men to 
exhort, comfort, and edify one another, and thus put 
forth those exertions which give them the character 
of the model church. Their hopes all culminated in 
the grandeur and glory of the kingdom of God at the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his holy 
ones, and they lived and labored in view of that event. 

Once more the apostle makes reference to the same 
subject, while concluding his epistle. After giving 
the Thessalonians various and definite admonitions, 
he writes, ^' Abstain from all appearance of evil. — 
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and 
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be 
preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who 
also will do it." 1 Thess. v. 22-^24. 

This passage clearly implies the entire sanctification 
of believers. And it is not merely a sanctification 
of the soul, but of the whole man, spirit, and soul^ 



134 Thessalonica : 

and body. I do not undertake here to explain the 
threefold nature of man. One thing is evident, that 
the spirit is as distinct from the soul as the soul is 
from the body. The two terms are never inter- 
changed in translating. The word of God pierces 
'^ to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of 
joints and marrow.'' Intimate as. is the union be- 
tween the '^joints and marrow/' they are not one. 
Nor are the '^ soul and spirit" identical ; and con- 
sequently, the spirit yet remains unprovided for when 
men have found a place for the body in the grave, 
and the soul in heaven, hell, or purgatory. It '' re- 
turns to God who gave it." We may say with Wes- 
ley, in his notes on the passage, " Of the three here 
mentioned, only the two last are the natural consti- 
tuents of man. The first is adventitious, and the 
supernatural gift of God, to be found in Christians 
only." This view may gain countenance from the 
description Jude gives of some who were sensual — 
or ^'soulual" — '^not having a spirit." An.d it is 
well known that this was the view of many early 
writers, who regarded the soul as being made im- 
mortal only by a union with the Holy Spirit of God, 
A single passage may be cited from Ireneeus, B. v., 
c. vi : " For neither is the formation of the flesh in 
itself the perfect man, but the body of man, and a 
part of man ; neither is the soul itself man, but the 
soul of man and a part of man. Nor is the spii^it 
man, for it is called spirit^ not man. But the com- 



The Model Church. 135 

miugling and union' of all these constitutes the per- 
fect man. For this reason the apostle, explaining 
himself, says : And the very God of peace sanctify 
you wholly/' etc., etc. 

But, leaving this subject, it is evident that the 
whole human nature is to be made pure and holy. 
A sanctification of the soul which leaves the body 
soaked with tobacco, opium and rum, or defiled with 
luxurious and unhealthy food, with expensive, 
stimulating, and deleterious drinks, is not the sanc- 
tification which Paul prayed for on behalf of these 
brethren. They were to be sanctified wholly. The 
man in his entireness was to be redeemed. The 
spirit was to be under the influence and guid- 
ance of the eternal Spirit. The soul was to be 
purified by obeying the truth through the Spirit unto 
unfeigned love of the brethren. Their bodies were 
to be temples of the Holy Spirit, and so they were 
to glorify Grod in their bodies, whether they ate or 
drank, or whatever they did. And the whole spirit, 
and soul, and body, he prayed might be preserved 
blameless, (en te parousia) at the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. The body can hardly be said tc 
be preserved unto that day, for it is '' flung to the 
heedless winds, or on the waters cast ;" and Paul 
did not pray that they might be preserved unto, but 
{en te parousia) in, at, or by the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. The complete preservation of 
the redeemed is at the appearing of the Lord ; as 



133 Thessalonica : 

Wiclif renders, " Without playnt in the comynge 
of our Lord ihesus Crist ;" or, with Cranmer, '' So 
that in nothynge ye may be blamed in the coming 
of our Lord lesus Christ;'' or, with the Ehiems 
version, [' That your whole spirit, and soule, and 
body without blame may be preserved in the' coming 
of our Lord lesus Christ/'^^ 

In these times most men are quite content with 
the salvation of the soul. Having imbibed the 
heathenish notion that the body is a dungeon, the 
soul a captive, death a deliverer, disembodiment per- 
fection, and the resurrection a fable, they forget to 
groan with the apostles, ^^ waiting for the adoption, 
to wit, the redemption of our body," while they re- 
joice with the heathenin the liberation of their souls. 

Paul held no such faith as this. The Thessaloni- 
aos sounded out no such doctrine as this. Paul was 
not at all inclined to accept that theory which di- 
vides a man betw^een God and Satan, leaving the 
body in the grasp of him who had the power of 
death, that is, the devil, and sending the soul to 
wander in the mazes of immateriality, '^ beyond the 
bounds of time and space." The salvation and sanc- 
tiflcation of which he preached, and for which he 

* Granville Penn, and A. L. Sawyer, also render the word en, "a/ '' in 
this passage. The expression here {en te farousia) is precisely similar to 
that in 1 Thess. ii. 19 ; iii. 13 ; 1 Cor. xv. 23 ; in all of which places it is 
rendered " at the coming.'' The present version, " unto the coming." is 
decidedly and clearly incorrect, and could only have been caused by a 
misunderstanding of the sense of the passage. For a critical examination 
of the word ^- parouda,'' or coming, and a demonstration that it only refers 
to a personal appearing, consult " The Voice of the Church on The Reign oJ 
Christ on Earth," by D. T. Taylor, p 317. 



The Model Church. 137 

longed and prayed, was a salvation, a sanctitication, 
a redemption, a preservation of the whole being. 
As Luther &aid, " Satan shall not even have so much 
as this rotten carcass/''^ The whole man, restored, 
purified, immortalized, glorified, shall be presented 
in the presence of the Father's glory, ^' faultless and 
^vith exceeding joy," •' holy and without blame be- 
fore him in love/' 

And here, as in every other passage, the goal is 
not conversion, discipline, death," or disembodiment. 
It is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was 
the object, the grand climax of all their anticipa- 
tions. It is resurrection, reunion, and glorification 
" in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his 
coming.'' 

We have thus passed through this first epistle 
addressed to the Thessalonians. We have seen this 
one grand, sublime, and inspiring truth standing out 
vividly on every page. In the first chapter they are 
described as waiting '^ for the Son of God from hea- 
ven." In the second chapter they are reminded 
that they are the apostle's " hope and joy and crown 
of rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ 
at his coming." In the third chapter they^are told 
that they are to be established ^' unblamable in holi- 
ness before God at the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ with all his saints." In the fourth chaptei 
they are told that their sleeping Christian friend? 

* Notes on 1 Cor. xv. 



138 Thessalonica : 

shall not be losers nor come behind the living saints 
in the day of blessing, '^ for the Lord himself shall 
descend " and gather them both at the same time to 
be with him for ever. In the fifth chapter we are 
told that, though the time of that event need not 
then be discussed, yet they were ^^ not in darkness 
that that day should overtake them as a thief;'' 
and, if diligent and vigilant, they would not be sur- 
prised by its coming ; though it would burst upon 
the world and suddenly destroy the godless while 
they were locked in profound security. And finally 
the apostles pray that the church may be sanctified 
wholly, and spirit and soul and body be preserved 
" blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ/' 
Toward this day his* finger ever points. Towards 
this day their eyes ever turn. How could they be 
idle or worldlv or sinful when the echoes of the 
judgment trump were ringing in their ears, and 
voices of untold power and energy shouted along their 
ranks the solemn watch- word : '' Behold he cometh 
with clouds, and every eye shall see him"? Their 
toiling time was bounded by the promised rest, and 
they watched for the welcome words, '^ Well done," 
which should usher them '^ into the joy of their 
Lord." Would it not be well for us to follow their 
faith and emulate their works ? Do we know of 
any other church which could fairly claim our pre- 
ference as an embodiment of practical Christianity 
' — as a model church ? 



Tlie Model Cliurch. 139 



CHAPTER Vm. 

The Faith of the Thessalonia>'S. The Second Epistle. Tribu- 
lations. Rest and Retribution at the Comincr of Christ. That Day 
not Impending. The Apostacy. The Man of Sin. The Mystery 
of Iniquity. The Lawless One. The Workhig of Satan. The 
Brightness of His Coming. Chronological Errors. Luther, Wes- 
ley, Fletcher, Miller. The Strong Delusion. Judicial Blindness. 
Pharaoh, Balaam, Saul, Ahab. Sudden Overthrow. Where are 
We Now'? Does the World Move? Recapitulation. Faith of 
the Thessalonian Church. Twelve Passages Concerning Christ's 
Advent on Two Pages of a Pocket-Bible. Paul could Write of 
Coming Glory, for he needed not to Rebuke them for Present 
Sins. Sowing Tares. Plucking Them Up. Our Duty to Testify. 
Build rather than Destroy. May God increase Model Churches. 

There yet remains for us one more source of in- 
formation concerning the faith and character of the 
Thessalonians, namely, the second epistle to them 
from Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus. An ex- 
amination of this will either confirm or modify our 
conclusions. Let us turn and peruse those passages 
which bear upon the subject. 

In reading the first chapter we find that^ after the 
appropriate salutation and a thanksgiving to God 
for their increasing faith and love, reference is made 
to their varied tribulations and their patience in 
them, as follows : '^So that we ourselves glory in 



140 Thessalonica : 

you in the churches of God for your patience and 
faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that 
ye endure : which is a manifest token of the right- 
eous judgment of God, that ye may be counted wor- 
thy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer : 
seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recom- 
pense tribulation to them that trouble you : and to 
you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord 
Jesus shall be keyealed from heaven with his 
mighty angels ; in flaming fire taking vengeance on 
them that know not God, and that obey not the 
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : who shall be pun- 
ished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ; when 
he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be 
admired in all them that believe (because our testi- 
mony among you was believed) in that day/' — 
2 Thess. i. 4-10. 

From this statement we learn several important 
facts ; First : There is a way to endure suffering 
which shall make it not a matter of shame and sor- 
row, but of joy and glorying : and this way of pa- 
tient rejoicing and passive triumph the church of 
Thessalonica knew and practiced. Second : Their 
patience in their afflictions was a plain proof that 
God judged wisely and righteously when he called 
them to his kingdom and glory ; for their willingness 
to suffer /or the kingdom of God proved that they 
knew its value and esteemed the divine blessins^ as 



The Model Churcfi. 141 

they should. Third: Notwithstanding their patient 
endurance of affliction would render it to them an 
occasion of blessing, yet it is '• a righteous thing" 
(not a cruel thing as some suppose) with God to 
repay tribulation to those who have persecuted and 
afflicted his church. Fourth: He will also render 
a rest to his troubled and afflicted saints— even the 
rest that reraaineth for the people of God. Fifth : 
This rest is to be bestowed on the Thessalonians and 
apostles all together at one time. They are to have 
" rest t^?^YA us '' — all shall receive and partake the 
same release and refreshment. Sixth : This tribu- 
lation upon the Thessalonian persecutors and rest for 
the church and for the apostles, was to be not in this 
life : not at or in death, but "^ when the Lord Jesus 
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty an- 
gels." This is the hour of retribution and reward. 
To that day'the heavens are '' reserved unto fire '' — 
the ungodly are reserved ''to be punished/' and the 
evil angels are '^ reserved in chains of da'rkness'^ to 
be condemned. 

Concerning that day, so eventful, we are informed 
as follows : First : The Lord Jesus, long unseen 
both by his friends and foes, while ministering with- 
in the heavenly veil, '' shall be revealed/' exhibited, 
or shown openly, " from heaven,'' He is now there 
at the Father's right hand, till his foes be made his 
footstool, but the heavens shall reveal him. He shall 
"- rend the heavens and come down.'' Second : Ho 



142 Thessalonica : 

shall be attended by his mighty angels : the " angels 
that excel in strength," that '' do his commandments, 
hearkening unto the voice of his word/' He shall 
come with all his holy ones — with " all his holy 
angels/' One of them slew one hundred and eighty- 
five thousand Assyrians in a single night. One ot 
them lit up the plain of Bethlehem with a glory 
that astonished the wondering shepherds. And here 
shall be '^ ten thousand times ten thousand and 
tnousands of thousands/' an " innumerable company 
of angels/' — who shall attend the conquering Lord 
in his advent to our world. Third : He shall ''in 
flaming fire" take vengean-ce on them that know not 
God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. ^' A fire goeth before him and burneth up 
his enemies round about." A fiery glory, like that 
which shone on Sinai, shall burn on every hand ; 
and who can dwell with that '' devouring fire ?" 
^' Who can dwell with everlastinoj burnino;s .?" — 
FouTtli : He shall punish those who know not God 
and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
They who have despised the mercy of the Most High, 
who has not left himself '' without a witness" of his 
goodness, even in the bounties of his providence : 
those who have not obeyed his Gospel, which is even 
now being preached '' in all the world for a witness 
unto all nations" before the end shall come, shall be 
punished with those who then troubled the Thessa- 



The Model Church. 14i 

Ionian church. Fifth : Their punishment shall be 
destruction. Punishment is a general term. It may 
refer to fines, deprivations, imprisonment^ torture, 
or death. Here it is defined as '^destruction'* — a 
terrible overthrow. '' They shall suddenly be des- 
troyed.'' ^^ Sudden destruction cometh upon them 
and they shall not escape.'' They bring upon them- 
selves '^ swift destruction." Sixth : Though this 
destruction is sudden^ it is not brief, it is eternal ; 
they shall be punished '^ with everlasting destruc- 
tion." They shall go into everlasting punishment. 
There shall be no revokement or reprieve, no remedy 
or restoration. Like the guilty cities of the plain, 
which are set forth as an example, suffering the ven- 
geance of eternal fire ; and like mankind, who are 
destined to submit to the scrutiny of an " eternal 
judgment" which can admit of no appeal, reversal, 
or remedy ; so the wicked shall be punished with 
an everlasting destruction.'*" Seventh : This des- 
truction, when it comes, shall not be a result of na- 
tural causes, nor shall it come in the ordinary pro- 
gress of human events, but it shall come '^ from thr 
presence of the Lord," of w^hom it is written : '' A 
fiery stream issued and came forth from before him 
It shall be from the Judge of quick and dead him- 
self that the Thessalonian persecutors shall receive 

* For a further examination of this passage, consult the able and learned 
works of Prof. C. F. Hudson, " Debt and Grace, as related to the Doctrine o« 
a Future Life." p. 187, and '' Christ our Life," pp. 120-122. 



44 Thessalonica : 

this terrible punishment. It shall be from '^ the 
glory of his power'' which none are able to withstand. 
Eighth : It shall all be accomplished — the rest of 
the apostle and the Thessalonian church, and the 
tribulation and destruction of their persecutors — 
when the Lord Jesus '^ shall come to be glorified in 
his saints and admired in all them that believe . . in 
that day/' The testimony of the apostles among 
the Thessalonians was believed, and therefore they 
w^ould then have the believer's joy in the day when 
Christ should come to be glorified in his saints. He 
might be glorified in the heavens, which declare his 
glory ; or in the earth, which reels and trembles at 
his approach ; in the rending skies and the melting 
globe : but his chief glory shall be in his redeemed, 
rescued, blood-bought, grateful people, who shall 
hail him with shouts of triumph, and enter for ever 
into his presence and his joy, in ^' a kingdom that 
shall not be moved." 

Such are the teachings by which Paul at the very 
outset of this epistle instructs the Thessalonians that 
all hope of rest, reward, and glory, and all prospect 
of punishment, judgment, and retribution, are only 
to be consummated and realized at the appearing, 
the revelation of the Lord Jesus. This evidently 
was the faith which had been thoroughly instilled 
into the hearts and minds of this noble band of be- 
lievers in the Lord Jesus Christ at Thessalonica. 



The Model Church. 145 

Passing to the second chapter, we find the apostle 
mon fully discussing the same subject in words like 
these : '' Now we beseech you, brethren, by the com- 
ing of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering 
t^jgetner unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in 
mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, 
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ 
is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means ; 
for that day shall not come, except there come a 
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, 
the son of perdition : who opposeth and exalteth 
himself above all that is called God, or that is wor- 
shiped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of 
God, shewing himself that he is God. Eemember 
ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you 
these things ? And now ye know what withholdeth 
that he might be revealed in his time. For the mys- 
tery of iniquity doth already work : only he who now 
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the 
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouih, and 
shall destroy with the brightness of his coming : 
even him^ whose coming is after the working of Sa- 
tan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, 
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in 
them that perish ; because they received not the love 
of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this 
cause God shall send them strong delusion, that 

they should believe a lie : that they all might be 

7 



146 Thessalonica : 

damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure 
in unrighteousness/' 2 Thess. ii. 1-12, 

It appears that this second epistle was written 
soon after the first, and was partly occasioned by the 
information which the writer had gained of the exist- 
ing condition of the Thessalonian church. Some have 
supposed that the Thessalonians had been taught by 
some false instructors that the day of Christ was just 
ready to burst upon them, and that they had conse- 
quently become unduly agitated by the tidings ; and 
so Paul wrote this second epistle to correct this mis- 
taken view. This supposition may be correct, or it 
may be that Paul wrote this epistle as a precaution- 
ary warning against such dangers. Whatever may 
have been the case, the letter no doubt answered its 
purpose, and saved the church much trouble. Let 
us briefly glance at the truths presented in the pas- 
sage we have quoted : 

First : The writer says : '' Now we beseech you, 
brethren, (huper) concerning the coming of our Lord 
and our gathering together unto him.'* This was 
the matter of his entreaty. It was concerning this, 
for '^ by'^ is an incorrect rendering of huper in this 
passage. Concerning the coming of the Lord and that 
glorious gathering together of his people ^^ around 
Mm'' in that day, they wished to say words of earn- 
est caution. 

Second: Concerning these subjects they write: 
^^ We beseech you, that ye be not soon shaken in 



The Model Church. 147 

mind, nor be disturbed, either by spirit, or by word, 
or by letter as from us, saying, That the day of the 
Lord is already come/'^^ They were not to give 
heed to Hymeneus or Philetus, who subverted the 
faith of some, saying that '^ the resurrection'' was 
^' past already'' ; any more than we are to heed those 
more modern allegorizers who teach that the coming 
of the Lord was simply the destruction of Jerusalem ; 
and no revelation, or forged letter purporting to be 
from them, which should trouble the Thessalonians 
by teaching that the day of God had come, and that 
they and their sleeping friends were left out of the 
grand and glorious triumph ; was to be received. 

The word translated ''at hand'' in the common 
version is enesteken^ which is rendered ''presenf in 
Kom. viii. 38; 1 Cor. iii. 22 ; 1 Cor. vii. 26 ; Gal. 
i. 4 ; Heb. ix. 9. These are all the places where it 
occurs in the New Testament, excepting 2 Tim. iii. 1, 
where it is rendered '' shall come," but the " perilous 
times" were to come at the same time that '' the last 
days" did, so the general sense is of heing present. 

The day of Christ was at hand : The coming of 
the Lord drew nigh, James v. 8. The end of all 
things was at hand, 1 Pet. iv. 7. '' The Lord is at 

* Granville Penn's Translation. " JSnesteken in this place signifies ' w 
present^^ or ' is already comeJ This notion, that the predicted ' day oftkc 
Lord* attained its fulfillment in the first coming of Christ, is an integral 
part of the error which the apostle reprobates, 2 Tim. ii. 18, viz. : ' That 
the resurrection had already been,' namely, "when our Lord arose from the 
dead." Penn's Annotations inloc. See also Dr. J. Lillie's exposition of 
Thessalonians, and bis translation of them issued by the Bible Union, where 
the rendering ^^ is present'* is ably defended. 



148 Thessalonica : 

hand/' Phil. iv. 5 ; for in the grand cycles of eter- 
nity, more than ^a^the period of human probation 
had expired ; but that day had not yet come^ it 
was neither present nor past, nor ought they to allow 
themselves to be troubled by such intimations. — 
They were still to " wait for the Son of God from 
heaven/' and expect his return with joyfulness. 

Though these anticipations of the Thessalonians 
were premature , Paul's reproof was not severe ; for 
he knew how deep an interest his brethren had in 
the coming of that day, and how ardently they loved 
the Lord's appearing ; and he could not harshly re- 
buke that which was so honestly intended. And 
since others have, perhaps with greater reason, even 
to the present time, been betrayed into similar errors 
of judgment, and have unwisely professed more 
knowledge than they really had concerning '' the 
times and the seasons which th^ Father hath put in 
his own power," we may well learn a lesson of gen- 
tleness and patience with those who so love their 
Lord that they can sing with Watts : 

" Our fond desires would jpray him down, 
Our love embrace him here !" 

Luther was no doubt mistaken when to Maltre 
Phillipe's remark that '' the Emperor Charles wonld 
live to be eighty-four/' Luther replied, '' The world 
itself will not live so long. Ezekiel tells us to the 
contrary. And again, if we drive forth the Turk, 
the prophecy of Daniel will be Mcconiplished, and 



The Model Church. 149 

• 

then you may rely upon it, the day of jiuliirnent is 
at hand/'^' And again, '' The world approaches its 
end, and it often comes into my thoughts that per- 
haps the day of judgment will arrive before I have 
finished my translation of the Bible. All the tem- 
poral events we find predicted therein have been ac- 
complished,, . the world cracks in every direction as 
though about to fall to pieces . . . The hour of mid- 
night approaches, when the cry will be heard, Behold 
the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him/'f 

So when he issued his translation of Daniel, fear- 
ing, it is said, that he might not have time to finish 
the whole Bible before the end, — and also when he 
said, '' I am persuaded the day of judgment is not 
far distant, and will not be absent above tJiree hun- 
dred years,'^ he was of course mistaken, as more 
time than that has since elapsed ; yet such a mis- 
take was not a fatal one. Melancthon also concur- 
red in the conviction that '' this aged world is not 
far from its end,'' and wrote it with his own hand on 
the fly-leaf of one of Luther's Bibles now preserved 
in the British Museum. | 

So Bishop Latimer said : ^^ Peradventure it may 
come in my days, old as I am, or in our children's 
days." Later than this John Fletcher of Madely 
wrote, " If these things happen not to us but to our 

* Michelet's Life of Luther, p. 290. 
t Ibid, pp. 210-lL 

X See '' The Voice of the Church," p. 160. Fletcher's Letter on the Pro 
phecies. Voice, p. 266. 



150 Thessalonica : 

children^ as they most certainly will before the third 
generation passes away, is it not our business to pre- 
pare ourselves for them ?" etc. 

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was not 
exempt, it is said, from a like mistake. Upon the 
fly-leaf of a volume which came from England and 
is in my library, I find the following : "• Copied from 
a Manchester paper of May the 27th, 1788. Mr. 
John Wesley preached in the parish church at Brad- 
ford, from these words on the 4th inst. — ' The end 
of all things is at hand, be ye sober and watch unto 
prayer/ He enforced the doctrine with peculiar 
energy, assuring his audience that the world would 
be at an end in A.D., 1836 ; but he intimated that 
a new world would succeed the old one, far better 
and infinitely more enlightened, in which there would 
be no hypocrites, no false teachers, but universal 
Holiness and angelic Purity."^^ 

Unfortunately 1836 has passed, and hypocrites and 
false teachers exist — even among those who profess 
to follow Wesley, but who discard his example, deny 
his doctrines, and violate his precepts. John Wes- 
ley was mistaken in his reckoning as Martin Luther 
had been before, and as William Miller has been 
since, — but shall all these good men be condemned 
for a mere mistake ? By no means. They loved 
the appearing of our Lord, and our reproof should not 
be harsh nor our rebuke severe. Nor are we to say 

*Investi2ator, Vol. I. MS. note on fly-leaf. 



The 3Iodel Church. 151 

with scoffers at these facts, that '^ all things continue 
as they were ;'' for '^ now is our salvation nearer ihan 
when we believed/' Nearer than when the Thessa- 
lonians expected it, and when the apostles said, '"The 
coming of the Lord draweth nigh ;" nearer than 
when Luther looked for it to come even in his day ; 
nearer than when Wesley preached its coming in 
1836 ; nearer than it was when William Miller 
preached it ^^ about the year 1843/' or when his fol- 
lowers, outstripping their master, fixed the month 
or day for its occurrence ; and notwithstanding these 
mistakes we have no right to say '' my Lord delay- 
eth his coming/' while we '^ know not when the time 
is/' and are bidden to " watch and pray always that 
we may be accounted worthy to* escape the things 
that are coming on the earth and to stand before the 
Son of man."^' 

Second : The apostle informs his brethren why 
their expectations were premature, and tells them, 
^^ Let no man deceive you by any means, for that 
day shall not come unless there come the apostasy 
first, and there be revealed that man of sin, the son 
of perdition." There are many who now defer the 

* How strangely inconsistent is the course of those who declare that no 
man has any right to fix the time of the advent of Christ, and who yet presume 
to say that the day of judgment certainly will not be here for thousands and 
thousands of years. Surely if " We know not when the time 2*5," we know 
Dot when the time is not. If we cannot tell when Christ will come, neither 
can we tell when he will not come. The apostles preached that they were 
i(Aen in " the hist days." Modern teachers have made improvements od 
their teachings, and declare now, 1800 years later, thr-i^ve are in " the first 
da-s," in the world's infancy. 



152 Thessalonica : 

day of Christ's coming for a very different reason. 
The apostles said, ^^ That day shall not come till the 
apostasy shall come/' Now men say, That day shall 
not come till the world's conversion comes. Paul's 
doctrine was, the world was not bad enough for the 
judgment. Their doctrine is that the world is not 
good enough. The Thessalonian church believed its 
teachers. The churches now believe theirs. The 
one lived according to its faith-r~waiting for the Son 
of God from heaven ; the others live according to 
their faith, and all men see their works. 

Third : In connection with the apostasy from God 
was the revelation of the man of sin, the son of per- 
dition ; who opposeth and exalteth himself above 
every one who is Trailed a god or an object of civil 
or religious reverence. So that he^ as God, sitteth 
in the temple of God, showing that he himself is 
God. This leader of apostasy, this head of unsanc- 
tified, rebellious, and reprobate humanity was to be 
revealed or made manifest, was to enthrone himself, 
arroo-atino; to himself divine honors, and warrino: 
against the Most High. 

Fourth: He asks them if they have forgotten his 
previous teachings, ^^Eemember ye not, that, when 
I was with you I told you these things ? And now 
ye know what restraineth him in order to his being 
revealed in his own season."* His previous oral 
instructions had illustrated this point more fully. 

* Macknight's version. 



The Model ChurcK 153 

The full development of the apostasy was not yet 
manifest. The time for the revelation of the man 
of sin was not yet come. The order of prophetic 
delineation and providential purpose was to be ob- 
served and followed. At that time other interven- 
ing events withheld the full unfolding of the apos- 
tasy, and deferred its manifestation till the proper 
time. What this withholding power w^as, the apos- 
tle does not state in this writing, he having unfold- 
ed it before as one of the traditions he exhorted them 
to hold fast. Many of the ancients and moderns 
regard it as the power of Imperial Rome. 

Jerome, commenting on this expression, says, 
*"And now ye know,' etc. That is, ye know very 
well, what is the reason why antichrist doth not 
come at present. He is not willing to say openly, 
that the Eoman Empire should be destroyed, which 
they who command think to be eternal. . . .For if he 
had said openly and boldly, that antichrist shall not 
come, unless the Eoman Empire be first destroyed, 
it might probably have proved an occasion of perse- 
cution against the church.''*^ Jerome himself after- 
wards saw the barbarians coming in upon the Eoman 
Empire and said, ^' He who hindered is taken out of 
the way, and we do not consider that antichrist ap- 
proaches, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with 
the spirit of his mouth. ''f Tertullian says, *•' Who 

* Algasiae Quest, ii. col. 209= Prior Pars. torn. 4. Edit. Benedict. New- 
ton on the Prophecies. t Ad Ageruchiam de Monogamia, col. 74R 



154 Thessalonica : 

can this be but the Roman State, the division of 
which into ten kingdoms will bring on antichrist, 
and then the Wicked one shall be revealed/''"' 

Fifth : He tells them that the mystery of iniquity, 
that hidden power of evil, was already working, that 
the preparations for apostasy and rebellion were ad- 
vancing, only the restraining power would continue 
to hinder until it was removed. Apostasy could not 
be perfect while pagan oppression existed, and power 
was denied to the church. It needed wealth, pomp, 
place, and patronage, to make the church utterly cor- 
rupt. Persecution kept it pure : prosperity brought 
the children of Satan in swarms beneath ^^ the ban- 
ner of the cross. "" 

Sixth : When this withholding or restraining power 
should be removed, then should that Wicked, or 
rather " The Lawless one/' be revealed. He who 
claimed to be above all law and to defy all restraint, 
who should change times and laws, whose coming is 
like the mighty working of Satan himself (who is 
always deceptive and crafty) ; he who, like Satan, 
shall in the furtherance of his objects and the accom- 
plishment of his purposes, make use of all power and 
signs, lying marvels and wonders, and with all kinds 
of unrighteous deceit among those who perish be- 
cause they received not the love of the truth that 
they might be saved. 

It is noteworthy that this passage gives us not 

* De Resurrect. Carnis. c 24. 



The Model Church. 155 

only the description of the ^^ Lawless one's'' mode of 
operations, but also a description of the manner o.^ 
the working of Satan himself. The Lawless one 
works after ^ or like, or according to the energy of 
Satan. Satan's w^orking is with all power and signs 
and lying miracles, and unrighteous deceptions, as 
among thousands of spirit mediums to-day. The 
Lawless one works in the same manner, with all kinds 
of cheats, lies, shams, tests, and marvels, as a worthy 
imitator of his father the devil. Both lie, deceive, 
and delude, but Satan, with his ^' mediums,'' is the 
original performer, and the Lawless one is a tricky 
and servile imitator. The one works miracles to 
confirm his lies, and the other tells lies to establish 
his miracles. 

Seventh : The classes who fall under the influence 
of these deceptions are not the obedient, the Christ- 
like, and the godly, but they are those who embraced 
not the love of the truth that they might be saved. 
Men who have backslidden from God, who have for 
years been quarreling with the Almighty ; men who 
have fought with their consciences and seared them 
as with an hot iron ; these are the men to listen to 
Jannes and Jambres as did Pharaoh, to hear to 
Balak as did Baalam of old, to listen to lying spirits 
and false prophets after rejecting Grod's spirit and im- 
prisoning the true ones, as did Ahab of old, and, 
finally, after quarreling with Grod's Bible for years, 
to incontinently swallow the monstrous falsehoods 



156 Thessalonica : 

peddled by ^^ spirit-mediums/' or rapped out by 
vagrant demons through the agency of mahogany 
tables. These were the classes who were meshed in 
the damnable delusions of the Eomish apostasy, and 
these are the characters who ever have fallen through 
unbelief and sin into the fatal errors which Satan 
brings upon the world. 

Eighth : For this cause,— because they not only 
rejected the truth, but banished the love of it from 
their hearts ; because they had no moral honesty in 
them ; because they would not obey Grod ; therefore 
the Lord shall send them strong delusion, — a mighty 
deception, that they may believe a lie, that they 
might all be condemned who believed not the truth 
but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

This course of action — this doctrine of ^^ judicial 
blindness,'" notwithstanding the prating of infidel 
objectors, is according to the simplest principles of 
common justice. It is as common as the detection 
of a fallacy, or the arrest of a rogue. If a man 
argues like a dishonest man, we get him to commit 
himself, and drive him to an unwelcome conclusion. 
If a man swears to a lie, we ask him close questions 
till he entraps himself, and becomes liable to pun- 
ishment for perjury. If a man robs the mail, we 
send in it a decoy letter, or else put a mail-bag just 
where he can have a chance to steal it, and then be 
arrested. If a clerk habitually pilfers his master's 
goods, every facility is afforded for him to do it oncti 



The Blodel Church, 157 

more, and then a secreted officer springs upon hina 
in the very act. If an honest man is asked to aid in 
some nefarious plot, he is bidden to encourage the 
rogues to speak freely, while trusty men are listen- 
ing in secret to every word they say, that they may 
bring the villains to condign punishment. 

So if Pharaoh will not hear Moses to let Israel 
go, let him hear Jannes and Jambres to pursue 
them. If he will harden his heart in sin and in 
rebellion, then let Grod harden it as a judgment till 
he can bury him in the Ked Sea as a terror to evil 
doers around him. 

If Baalam will refuse God's warnings and go 
after '' the wages of unrighteousness/' let him go 
and fall in the battle which his wickedness shall 
occasion. If Ahab sheds the blood of Naboth, digs 
down God's altars, kills his prophets, and 
finally puts the last one in prison to feed on bread 
and water, then let God send forth a lying spirit in 
the mouth of Ahab's prophets to lie to him who 
will have lies, and who will not have truth, to lead 
him up to Kamoth Gilead to battle, that a heaven- 
guided arrow may rid the nation of a tyrant, and 
the world of a scoundrel, while his blood is licked 
by dogs where the blood of the innocent Naboth 
was slain by him. 

If Saul refuse God's admonitions and the warnings 
of his prophets, then let him go to a '' spirit- 
medium" at Endor and hear his message of doom, 



158 Tliessalonica : 

and climb Gilboa to die in the rout and flight 
before Philistia's conquerino; hordes. 

If Israel reject the counsel of Grod against them- 
eelves, and crucify their king, the Lord of Glory, 
then let his blood be upon their own heads, and let 
desolation come upon them like a whirlwind. If 
they refuse the prophet of God, they shall have 
false prophets to their liking, and if they desire a 
robber and a murderer instead of their king, they 
shall have their will. 

And so if men will not receive and cherish the 
pure faith of the apostles of the Lamb, then let 
apostasy spread its dark wings above them, and all 
signs and lying wonders cause them to be ensnared. 
And if men now will quarrel with God, fight his 
truth, serve the devil, go into all sorts of crimes 
and blasphemies, depart from the Scriptures, deny 
the Lord that bought them, and plunge into world- 
liness and sin, then let " spirit-mediums '' swarm 
like plagues in Egypt, aye, let unclean demons like 
frogs working miracles go forth, let power, and 
signs, and lying wonders, and deceivableness of 
unrighteousness, and strong delusion, the believing 
of the lie, and the final condemnation, be the 
righteous doom of those who received not the love 
of the truth that they might be saved, but who 
gather themselves around the nucleus of final rebel- 
lion which shall oppose itself to the conquering might 
and glory of the King of kings and Lord of lords. 



The Model Church. 159 

Ninth : The Wicked one, who was to be thus 
revealed and manifested when the hindering power 
was removed, is destined to a terrible destruction. 
For him there is no reformation, reprieve, or conver- 
sioD. He shall stand undestroyed till he falls 
before the fury of the Lord. When the true Christ 
comes, the antichrist falls. Him the Lord ^- shall 
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy 
with the brightness of his coming.'' ''He shall 
smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and 
with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.'' 
He shall abolish, overthrow, exterminate, and 
destroy him .with the out-shining splendor of his 
personal appearance. Here is the end of the apos- 
tate power, at the manifestation of the splendor of 
Christ's coming, at the end of the age.^^ 

And, with this terrible doom of the ungodly who 
love not the truth before them, the apostles turn in 
joyfulness to the Thessalonians saying, '' We are 
bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren 
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the be- 
ginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctifica- 
tion of the spirit and belief of the truth ; whereunto 
he called you by our Gospel, to the obtaining of the 

* For a full discussion of this passage, and a thorough refutation of the 
theory which supposes that this coming of the Lord is a mere spiritual 
appearing, the reader may consult " The Voice of the Church," by D. T. 
Taylor, chapter ix. pp. 293-295. The chapter is entitled " The Doom of 
Antichrist," and like the rest of the volume gives a vast number of quota- 
tions and authorities on the subject. It may be obtained with other works 
on the same subject of the publishers of this volume. 



1 60 Thessalonica 



glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, 
atand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have 
been taught, whether by w^ord or our epistle. Now 
our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our 
Father, which hath loved us and given us everlast- 
ing consolation and good hope through grace, com- 
fort your hearts and establish you in every good word 
and work.'' 

And, finally, in the next chaper he prays, " And 
the Lord direct your hearts unto the love of God and 
the patient waiting for Christ." (2 Thess. iii. 5.) 
They must love God and have the meekness and pa- 
tience of Jesus the Son of God. Thus shall thev 
behold his face with gladness and with peace. 

We have here learned the teaching of Paul and 
the faith of this primitive church concerning the 
proximity of the coming of our Lord. The expecta- 
tions of the Thessalonians w^ere premature. The cor- 
rection of the apostle was explicit. That day could 
Hot then come. The world was not yet bad enough. 
There must come apostasy, the man of sin, the Law- 
less one with lying wondei-s, and then should come 
the sudden destruction upon them at the appearing 
of the Lord. All these events reach their consum- 
mation there. They all culminate at that grand and 
sublime event. And this apostasy and development 
of wickedness are the only obstacles which Paul in- 
terposed to stay the eagerness of his brethren in their 
longings for the advent of the Lord. Isoihing did 



Tlie Model Church. 161 

he say of the world being in its infancy ; nothing of 
the world's conversion before the day of doom ; noth- 
ing of an intervening golden age to precede the out- 
pouring of the last wrathful vials ; no, nothing of 
all these fables of the nineteenth century. The only 
reason he had to give for the delay of the day of 
judgment was, the cup of iniquity w^as not yet full ; 
there yet lacked the apostasy, the man of sin and 
lawlessness and crime, to complete the picture of 
mortal transgression, obstinacy, and rebellion. 

And now, as we stand more than eighteen hun- 
dred years farther down the track of time and nearer 
the day of judgment than did the Thessalonian 
church, may we not well inquire whether these grand 
events have to any extent been accomplished ? Does 
the w^orld move with the roll of ages ? Or do all 
things continue as they were ? Have we sailed past 
any of the great lights and landmarks of prophecy 
that bestud the coast of time, or are they all yet 
future and as far away as when the apostles wrote 
of their coming ? Have we consulted, our chart and 
watohed our course and kept our reckoning ? Do 
we know how much of the voyage is past and how 
much remains ? 

Has not that great restraining power given way ? 
Has not Eome succumbed to the rule of barbarous 
hordes ? Has not the mystery of iniquity w^rought 
like leaven in all the church and brought forth ruin 
and desolation ? Has not the apostasy come, mourn- 



162 Thessalonica : 

ful, damning, and desolating, with ages that all 
speak of as '^ dark/' with a corrupt priesthood, a 
false faith, an apostate church, an ungodly hierarchy, 
a sealed Bible, an idolatrous worship, and a forgot- 
ten God ? 

Have not all signs and lying wonders, pretended 
miracles and monkish lies, pious frauds and priestly 
deceptions been invoked to assist the progress of a 
^power lawless beyond all control, defying God and 
crushing man, and leading captive nations and 
kingdoms to final overthrow and desolation by its 
enchantments ? And are we not now amid events 
which indicate the gathering of foes for a final con- 
flict, when unclean spirits with unblushing lies sweep 
into their strong delusions the teeming multitudes 
who have rejected God, denied Christ, done despite 
to the Spirit of grace, and counted the blood where- 
with they were redeemed as an unholy thing ? 

And if eighteen hundred years ago they said ^^the 
coming of the Lord draweth nigh," if even then but 
one grand series of events was named as delaying its 
approach, and if these stand in the back-ground of 
t^-day like vast mountains over which the traveler 
has past in his journey, or like lights long left be- 
hind which are fading in the distance from the vision 
of the mariner who pursues his voyage, may we not 
say with joy that "our salvation is nearer"" now 
than then, and that " yet a little while and he that 
shall come will come and will not tarry "? And is 



The Model Church. 163 

t not especially to us that there come with power 
the solemn sayings so needed in these days of doubt 
and unbelief : '' Cast not away your confidence 
which hath great recompense of reward V\ , /'Now 
the just shall live by faith "? Should we not then 
do well to adopt as a model of Christian faith and 
zeal this Thessalonian church ? 

Before taking leave of our theme, let us hastily 
rehearse the facts which we have noted in connection 
with the faith of this church. "We have seen that 
they waited " for the Son of God from heaven ;'' that 
they were to meet the apostles '* in the presence of 
our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ;'' that their 
hearts were to be established '^ unblamable in holi- 
ness before God at the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ with all his holy ones/^ They were to meet 
their slumbering friends waked from the dead, and 
were all to enter together into the presence of Christ 
when the Lord should ^' descend from heaven with a 
shout/' and so should his people come to " be ever 
with the Lord/' They were '' not in darkness " that 
'^ the day of the Lord " should come upon them as a 
thief ; and while the wicked at that day should be 
destroyed, when they were saying peace and safety, 
they, armed with the breast-plate of faith and of love, 
and having for a helmet the hope of salvation, would 
by watchfulness escape the danger ; and finally they 
were to be sanctified wholly and preserved blameless 
and harmless, spirit, soul, and body, '' at the coming 



164 Thessalonica : 

of our Lord Jesus Christ/' These are the teachings 
of the first epistle. 

The second epistle tells us of rest for the troubled 
and tribulation for their persecutors, '' when the 
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming 
fire with his mighty angels/' It tells that the 
wicked shall be destroyed, and the faithful saved, 
when he comes " to be glorified in his saints and 
admired in all them that believe in that day/' It 
teaches the Thessalonians '^ concerning the coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together 
around him," that it was not then impending, that 
faith and hope must have their trial before their 
reward, but that when wickedness was at its height, 
the Lord should consume the Wicked with the 
spirit of his mouth, and destroy him " with the 
brightness of his coming/' And, finally, the prayer 
is breathed that the Lord may direct their hearts 
into the love of Grod and into the patient waiting 
for Christ. 

It may be that some reader will object to this 
mode of investigation, and will say, '' I do not like 
this going from passage to passage, this running 
all over the Bible to prove a doctrine.'' But stay, 
my good friend ; I have not gone all over the Bible. 
Every passage of importance which I have cited 
and referred to in this whole treatise, except mere 
allusions or partial quotations, is found on just two 
consecutive leaves in my little pocket Bible. The 



The Model Church. 165 

whole of the two epistles from which I quote will 
not cover more than about three pages of my pocket 
Bible. Two short letters — shorter than many that 
go through the mails every day, shorter than many a 
newspaper article — contain all these passages about 
the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Twelve distinct references to the comiuo^ of Jesus 
Christ on two leaves of a pocket Bible ! Twelve 
solemn, cheering, and consoling mentions of it in 
two brief epistles — that fact tells how much this 
grand theme was in the hearts and minds of the 
apostles of Jesus Christ and of this model church. 
This was their object, their goal, their hope, their 
joy, their great and glorious day-dawn, for which 
they longed more than they that watch for the 
morning. 

And is not here the key to some of the blessed 
peculiarities in the character of these Thessalonian 
Christians ? 

Why should they turn back with the Galatians to 
the beggarly elements of this world, when the glories 
of the world to come were bursting full-orbed upon 
the eye of faith and hope ? Why should they, like 
some of the Philippians, become enemies of the cross 
of Christ, when they saw in that cross but the pre- 
sage of a glorious crown that should never fade 
away ? Why should they, like the Oolossians, be in 
danger of being spoiled by vain philosophy, when 
the great facts for which they so ardently looked 



166 Thessalonica : 

withered the philosophy of those times like Jonah^a 
gourd beneath the burning sun ? And is it any 
wonder that Paul had no need to write to Thessa- 
lonica as to Corinth, '^ How say some of you that 
there is no resurrection of the dead ?'' " Thou fool, 
that which thou sowest is not quickened except it 
die/' — when the coming of our Lord to raise the 
dead and give them immortality and glory was the 
object of their brightest hopes, their in tensest long- 
ings, and their deepest desires. 

No divisions had Paul to rebuke in this church — 
they were united in the one Spirit, one Lord, one 
faith, and one baptism. No errors had Paul to 
combat and uproot in the church at Thessalonica — 
they were too busy for perverse dispu tings, too active 
for striving about words to no profit. Dead things 
are formed under stagnant waters, and errors grow 
in a lazy, backslidden church which has knowledge 
but no grace, as naturally as weeds grow in a moist 
and ill tended garden. The cure for captious dispu- 
tation and quarreling is prayer to God, visiting the 
poor, doing good to the distressed, and blessing the 
sad. Satan finds mischief for idle hands, and sows 
tares while sluggards sleep. It is good to be es- 
tablished with grace — let this establish us and winds 
of doctrine do not blow us about. And the reason 
why Paul writes here so much of these scenes of 
coming glory to this church is, that while in his other 
epistles he had to overturn errors, oppose heresies. 



TJie Model Church, 167 

rebuke sins, warn offenders, chastise false apostles, 
and even defend his own character and prove his own 
apostleship ; here he had no such wretched work to 
do, but could launch out at once into the grand and 
sublime truths that tell of coming glory to the 
church, such as the world has never seen. 

And to this day the preaching of the word of God 
is hindered in the same way. The great^ living, all- 
important truths of God are caused to stand aside 
that ministers may fight error, pull up tares, reprove 
wrongs, and correct abuses. But let not the minis- 
ter of Christ forget his mission. The light-heeled 
adversary can trip about, sowing tares much faster 
than any one can pull them up. Jesus well under- 
stands the devices of the devil. He would first have 
the servants sleep while he sows tares, and then he 
can chuckle while they leave their work to pull them 
up. He knows that a professional ^^ tare puller" 
performs no productive labor. What he does is all 
lost work, and he pulls up wheat as well as tares. 
Let both grow together till the harvest. Then let 
the angels of God separate them with unerring skill, 
guided by divine wisdom. 

This instruction, prohibiting the persecution of 
^' the children of the wicked one/' may give a valu- 
able hint to those who think their business is to 
right all the wrong and combat all the errors in the 
world. Though you may have something to do in 
this direction, let the first great work be, to preach 



168 Thessalonica. 

Christ and his truth. Let no controversy, no error, 
no opposition divert you from this work. Preach 
the word. What you hnow is of more consequence 
than what you '' don 't believe." Bear your testi- 
mony. Tell what you know. Prove it. Let quar- 
reling alone. Nothing cuts error up by the roots 
like plain, simple truth. Lies thrive amid quarrels 
and disputes. " Blessed are the meek, for they shall 
inherit the earth/' 

And when you fall among Christians, like those 
at Thessalonica, you can for a time leave oif your 
fault-findings and reproofs, and pour from a joyful 
soul the glad news of that coming redemption and 
immortal glory which awaits the tried and strug- 
gling flock at the triumphant advent of their con- 
quering Lord. 

May God raise up unto himself many who shall 
be, in faith, and hope, and life, and labor, so like 
the Thessalonian Christians, that we shall not be 
driven to wander over the waste of ages for eighteen 
hundred years, to find a model church. 



REASONS 



FOR MY HOPE. 



BY H. L. HASTINGS. 



AUTFOR OF THE GREaT CONTROVERSY BiuTWEEN GOD AND MAN, 

&c., &c. 



'* But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts ; and be ready always to 
give an answer to every man that asketh a reason of the hope that is in 
you with meekness and fear." — 1 Pet. iii : 15. 



BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY H. L. HASTINGS, NO. 167 HANOVER ST 

W. H. PIPER AND CO., NO. 133 WASHINGTON ST. 

NEW YORK: G. W. CARLETON, 413 BROADWAY 

GEORGE W. YOUXG, 35 ANN ST., UP STAIRS. 

PHILADELPHIA I SMITH, ENGLISH, AND CO. 

18 6 4, 



hn^-fea^ according ^k. Act of Congress^ in the yeai Y^i^S^s. 

by m L. HASTINGS, 

In the Glerii^ ^ Office of the District Court of the United States, for im 

State of Rhode l&lan^. 



BEBIGATIOF. 

TO 
All those who as yet have no hope, and are without God in the 
world ; Eph. ii : 12, — whose hope is destroyed when death over- 
takes them ; Job xiv : 19, — and perisheth when they leave this 
world : Prov. xi : 7, — who say, who will show ns any good ? 
Ps. iv : 6, — and who, in candor and honesty, desire a reason of 
the hope that is in me. 1 Pet. iii : 15. 

TO 
All those who are called in one hope of their calling ; Eph. 
iv : 4, — who have set their hope in God, and have hoped in his 
word ; Ps. Ixxviii : 7. cxix : 74, 147, — believing that whatso- 
ever things were written, were written for our learning, that wo, 
through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope ; 
Rom. XV : 4, — who have Christ in them, the hope of glory ; 
Col. i : 27, — and who have put on for an helmet the hope of 
Salvation. 1 Thess. v : 8. 

TO 
Those who are rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, instant 
in prayer ; Rom. xii : 12,— who, if in this life only, they had 
hope in Christ, would be of all men most miserable ; 1 Cor, xv : 
19, — but who have hope toward God that there shall be a resur- 
rection of the dead, just and unjust ; Acts xxiv : 15, — who, if 
called to die, have yet hope in their death ; Prov. xiv : 32, — and 
whose flesh can rest in hope ; Ps. xvi : 9, — who are not igno- 
rant concerning them that are asleep, and who sorrow not as those 
who have no hope. 1 Thess. iv : 13. 

TO 
Those who are saved by hope ; Rom. viii : 24,— who being 
justified by God's grace, are heirs according to the hope of eternal 
life ; Titus iii : 7, — who rejoice in hope of the glory of God ; 
Rom. v: 2, — whose tribulation worketh patience, and patience 
experience, and experience hope, which maketh not ashamed ; 
Rom. v: 45, — who have hope of being like Christ, and, liaving 
this hope in Christ, they purify themselves even as he is pure. 1 
John iii : 1-4. 

TO 
Those who are sober and hope unto the end, for the grace that 
^hall be brought unto them at the appearing of Jesus Christ ; 1 
Pet. i : 13, — who are not moved away from the hope of the 
Gospel which they have heard ; Col. i : 23, — who are looking 
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great 



IV DEDICATION. 

God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; Titus ii : 13, — whose hope 
while it is deferred, maketh the heart sick ; but whose desire when 
it cometh shall be a tree of life ; Prov. xiii : 12, — which hope 
they have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and 
which entereth into that within the veil. Heb. vi : 19. 

TO 
The God of hope, who fills us with peace in believing, that we 
may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit ; Eom. 
XV : 13, — who is the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time 
of trouble; Jer. xiv : 8, — who hath begotten us again unto a 
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ; 
1 Pet. i : 13, — who hath given us everlasting consolation and 
good hope through grace; 2 Thess. ii : 16, — and to the Lord 
Jesus Christ who is our hope; 1 Tim. i: 1, — and whom the 
Father raised from the dead, and gave him honor and glory, that 
our faith and hope might be in God. 1 Pet. i : 22 : 

THESE PAGES, 

Written by one, who, seeing he has such hope, has used great 
plainness of speech ; 2 Cor. iii : 12, — and whose prayer is, " Up- 
hold thou me according unto thy word that I may live : and let 
me not be ashamed of my hope, (Ps. cxix : 116) 

.♦ WITH THE EAKNEST DESIRE 

Those who have no hope/may fly for refuge to lay hold upon 
the hope set before them ; Heb. vi : 18, — and turn to the strong- 
hold while they are yet prisoners of hope. Zech. ix : 12. 

Those who are called in one hope, may know what is the hope 
of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance 
in the saints. Eph. i : 18. 

God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ our Hope, may be 
honored by this feeble instrumentality, and may grant the bless- 
ings of the Eternal Spirit, upon the^work and person of a servant 
50 unprofitable, and a worshiper so unworthy as 

THE AUTHOR. 

Frovidenee, R. /., Jan. 1, 1860: 



REASONS 

FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN ME. 

BY H. L. HASTINGS. 

Hope is the anticipation of some desired object 
— the expectation of some real or supposed future 
.good. It is the ucion of expectation and desire. 
Those troubles that we /ear, are not objects of hope, 
neither are those good things which we have no 
expectation of ever receiving. It is true that the 
Greek word elpis not only signifies hope, and the 
object of hope, but also in later times, " any thought 
on the future, expectation, hoping, and also fear^^ 
but though the Apostles may sometimes use the 
word thus, yet this is not at all the usual sense. 
Hoj)e, properly speaking, exists only where there 
is expectation and desire. 

Hope is a natural element in the human mind. 
A man in his normal condition always hopes. 
Without Aope man would be a monster. The deep 
agony of a hopeless soul is comprised in one single 
word — " DESPAIR." Well did honest John Bunyan 
personify him as one of the most mighty and furious 
foes of pilgrims who had wandered from the right 



6 Beasons 

path. Men will hope. The child hopes for boy- 
hood and its mirth; the boy for youth and its 
sports, the youth for manhood and its independence, 
the man for the riches and honors and dignity that 
may crown the toils of a life-time ; and then when 
every sta^e of life is past, still hope, though oft de- 
luding men through life, still points them onward 
to hills of light, which lie in supernal radiance be- 
yond the dark and sullen stream that chills their 
reluctant feet, or rolls its billows and its waves 
above their sinking heads. God has seen that 
men would hope for something, and so he has given 
them something to hope for ; — something worthy 
of their highest aspirations after all ideal and sha- 
dowy excellence. He has held out before them a 
hope. This hope, I trust, through his favor, has 
become my hope, and I desire to lay it before you, 
my reader, that you may know its excellence and 
be benefitted and blest by it as I have been. I 
shall, therefore, try to show you, first, what is not 
my hope, and then I shall tell you what it is, and 
shall finally endeavor to give you some of the rea- 
sons and evidences upon which I rest this hope. 
And I shall do this the more willingly because I 
have respect to that word which says, " But sanc- 
tify the Lord God in your hearts ; and be ready 
always to give an answer to every man that asketh 
you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meek- 
ness and fear." 1 Pet. iii : 15. 

The hope that I cherish, which is my joy in 



For the Hope that is in Me. ? 

sorrow, my light in darkness, and my well-spring 
of gladness in the hours of my earthly bitterness 
and woe, is, in its basis, its aims, and its objects, 
very different from the other hopes that animate 
the bosoms, and stimulate the efforts of mankind. 
It is wider in its reach, more grand and lofty in its 
objects, and more enduring in its hoLsis than many 
of the hopes which men are taught to cherish here. 
T. The hope that I cherish is not the hope of 
worldly wealth. This hope is not well founded. 
No man can be certain of being rich, whatever 
course he may pursue. All cannot be rich. Some 
must be poor, and since many who become rich do 
so only by grasping and hoarding their own por- 
tion and that which rightfully belongs to a dozen 
or an hundred others, I cannot see that a hope of 
such riches can be really worth the cherishing. 
Then, as we are not certain of getting riches, those 
who do get them are not sure of keeping them. 
The millionaires of the day may be the beggars of 
to-morrow ; yea more, they may be rotting amid the 
darkness and corruption of the grave. Besides, I 
have never observed or learned that rich men are on 
the whole to be envied more than others. They are 
no wiser, healthier, or happier than many others. 
They cannot enjoy their food, or their raiment, or 
their rest — the gratifications of natural appetites, 
or of grand and intellectual desires, better than 
many others who have not their wealth. Besides, 
wealth costs labor in getting, care in keeping, 



8 Reasons 

misery in wasting, penury in hoarding, and perdi- 
tion in loving it. No hope of such an uncertain 
and equivocal object as this can be worthy of my 
heart's longings. 

II. . My hope is not a hope of worldly honors. 
These are for the few. Those that will have them 
pay dearly for them oft times, when they buy them 
with the price of blood, of honor, of integrity, and 
mental peace. Worldly honors when gained, often 
prove sources of'sorrow and of pain. Laurels wither 
and fade ; thrones totter and fall ; rulers perish and 
pass away. Death bows the heads of emperors, 
beggars, kings, and slaves alike. . Masters and sub- 
jects must lay aside the wreaths of honor and the 
chains of servitude, and each come to stand in sol- 
emn judgment before Almighty God at last. What 
are thrones and kingdoms, and honors, and offices, 
in view of the terrible majesty of that great God 
and that great day ! Surely no hope of such fleet- 
ing, perishing dignities should engross my soul's 
affections, or withdraw my heart from higher good. 

III. My hope is not a hope of worldly ease, 
pleasure, or enjoyment. What God gives of this, 
I accept with gladness. But I dare not make such 
things my hope. " The pleasures of sin'' are but 
" for a season." Earthly joys are transient and un- 
certain. These radiant flowers are thickly set with 
thorns, and the coil of the hidden serpent is amid 
the clustering foliage. The cup of pleasure is 
sweet at first to the perverted taste, but it leaves 



For tlie Hope that is in Ale. 8f 

behind a bitterness that fills the soul with woe. 
And, ah ! how soon these joys dim when death's 
shadow falls upon them — how they fleet as the 
grave yawns before our feet. Such joys as these 
can never satisfy my soul. It pants for somethmg 
better — something permanent as the promises of 
God, pure as the waters of salvation, and lasting 
as eternity. 

IV. My hope is not a hope of a long and pros- 
perous life in this world. Many who trust in this 
hope find it vain. My judgment tells me that lam 
passing away. All flesh is as grass. Our life is 
but a vapor that appeareth but for a little while, 
and then vanisheth away. Just so I have seen 
both clouds and men scattered and driven from 
mortal view. And sometimes, when sorrows ap- 
proach and days of darkness come, life seems long 
enough, yea, too long. With Job we cry " I loathe 
it ! I loathe it ! I would not live alway.'^ When 
all else is changeful, why should I seek perma- 
nence ? Let me pass on with the ebbing tide of 
mortality, rather than remain to petrify beneath 
the aflSiictions that beset me, and stand in lonely iso- 
lation amid the wreck and ruin of all I loved. I 
cannot hope for long life while death knells are 
sounding in my ears, and all around me are passing 
in solemn procession onward to their resting places 
in the dark and silent sepulchre. I have no love 
of death — no sentimentality for martyrdom. I love 
the lustiness of vigorous health, but I dare not put 



10 Reasons 

my trust in a life which is drawn from a source so 
impure as that through which our life is derived. 
No ! my hope must pass beyond this life for its 
resting place — its sure and certain anchorage 
ground. 

V. My hope is not a hope of such a " good time 
coming/' as is expected by many of the Infidels, 
Poets, Philanthropists, Philosophers, Spiritualists, 
and Divines of the present day and age. I see no 
tokens of it in the present oppression, wickedness 
and corruption of this world. I see no hope of it 
in the apathy, worldiness and pride of the profess- 
ing church. I see no portents of it in the godless 
intellectualism of the present generation. I see 
no omen of it in the hollow-hearted sycophancy 
that prevails on every side. I see no prospect of 
it in the fierceness of warlike nations who have 
made slaughter a science and bloodshed a glorious 
art. I see no indication of it in the unexampled 
collections of munitions for war, the unparalelled 
preparations for battle, the beating of ploughshares 
into swords, and of pruning hooks into spears, in 
making ready for scenes of carnage yet to come. 
I see no foreshadowing of it in the covetousness, 
the money worship, the mad lust for pelf and gold 
which seems to rule the hearts of men with all the 
malignity of a demon's sway. 

If I look to the past, the analogies and examples 
there seen give me no indications that progression 
to perfection is the course and destiny of man. 



For tJie Hope that is in Me. li 

The facts of history are at war with such a theory. 
No nation or race has long gone steadily onward. 
All the kingdoms of antiquity have grown sinful 
and have faded away. All ancient governments 
have been degraded, broken or destroyed. . The 
progress of the race has been irregular and often 
backward. So it continues. The evil heart is ever 
the same. '' The works of the flesh'' are noio what 
they were when Paul described them. The broad 
road is still crowded by a thoughtless throng who 
tread the way of death. The sins of Sodom, 
and Egypt, and Jerusalem, are being reproduced 
daily before our eyes. How shall their imitators 
escape their doom ? 

If I turn to the word of God that " liveth and 
abideth forever," I find no promise of this " good 
time coming," within this present age^ or day of 
grace. True, I see in the distant future a time 
when " all shall know the Lord," from the least 
unto the greatest, and the world shall be illumined 
with his light, and gladdened with his glory ; but 
it is beyond the times of vengeance, and judgment, 
and wrath, which are to fall like a whirlwind of 
fury upon the heads of the godless and the vile. But 
in this world, and during this age, " the wheat," and 
" the tares," the righteous and the wicked, are both 
to grow together '' till the harvest," which is the 
completion of the age. Math, xiii : 30. In this 
world there is to exist that gigantic personification 
of iniquity " the man of sin," until the Lord shall 



12 Reasons 

consume him with the breath of his mouth and des- 
troy him with the outshining splendor of his com- 
ing. 2 Thess. ii : 8. There are to be scoffers even 
in the last days, saying, " where is the promise T)f 
his coming?^' 2 Pet. iii : 3. The great net w^ill 
bring both good and bad to the shore, and the day 
of separation is the day of judgment. Math, xiii : 
47, 49. And that day does not dawn in the calm- 
ness of untroubled peace ; nay, it shall rather 
break in fury upon the rebellious and impious. It 
shall come, not on a converted but upon an ungod- 
ly world. It shall come like the ruin that came 
upon the antedilut^ians, the Sodomites, the Jews, 
and every other race that have stood out their 
allotted period of mercy and probation ; only the 
coming of this shall be more terrible than the com- 
ing of all before it combined. 

And since such is the doom of the world, as pre- 
dicted by those same prophets whose warnings of 
earth's past judgments have been so minutely, so 
literally, so circumstantiall}^ verified ; I dare not 
flatter myself that there are good times in store for 
earth until this dark and dire account is adjusted, 
until this great controversy between God and man 
is definitely and finally settled."^ There is a gloomy 
cloud overhanging the world. There may be a rain- 
bow, and sunshine, and beauty in store, but we 

* For a full discussion of this important subject, the reader is referred to 
** The Great Controversy between God and Man ; Its origin, progress, and 
end. By H. L. Hastings." 1 Vol. 12mo. It may be obtained of the pub- 
lishers of the present work. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 13 

shall not behold it until those impending clouds 
have emptied out the fullness of their fury — not 
until those lightnings have glanced and those thun- 
ders have been uttered that shall tell of vengeance 
long deserved and long delayed, but breaking in at 
last with sudden and resistless power upon the 
heads of the ungodly. The storm will come. Are 
we hidden from its fury ? Are we in the rock 
which is cleft to hide us ? Are we " in Christ Je- 
sus'' ? Reader : these are important questions. 
Let them be candidly considered and answered. 
Do not build upon the sand. Seek for the rock of 
strength. Look to Christ and to his word. Trust 
in his arm and in his promises. So shall you have 
a hope that is " like an anchor to the soul, sure and 
steadfast, reaching to that within the vail.'' Heb. 
vi : 19. 

VI. My hope is not a hope of escaping through 
death into some fancied spheres of progression, 
there to roam and wander without regard to Christ 
or his ways. My hope is not the hope of commu- 
nicating sublime nothings through the medium of 
pine tables, or inJBdel men and women, nor of finding 
in death that salvation which I refused to accept 
through Jesus Christ. To me, as to the apostles, 
death is an " enemy," and as such is to be destioy- 
ed. 1 Cor. xv :* 26. To be ransomed " from his 
power" rather than to fall beneath it, is an object 
of desire ; and among the brilliant pictures of 
prophetic vision, few are more glorious than those 



14 Beasons 

that delineate the hour when death shall be " swal- 
lowed up in victory" — and when death, that came 
by sin, with him that had the power of death, that 
is the devil, shall yield to the conquering majesty 
of Christ the King of glory, " there shall be no 
more death, neither sorrow nor sighing." Hos. 
xiii : 14. Is. xxv : 8. Heb. ii : 14. Rev. xxi : 4, 
I am aware that many cherish such a hope as this, 
and believe that when dead they shall still mingle 
in all the busy activities of life. But of the dead I 
read " they know not anything . . . neither have they 
any more a portion forever in that which is done 
under the sun.^ " His sons come to honor and he 
understandeth it not, they are brought low and he 
perceive th it not of them." Many are the scriptures 
that incline me to distrust such a hope. It rests 
upon an uncertain basis. It cannot be my hope. 
Eccl. ix : 4-6. Job xiv : 21. 

My hope, the hope that is in me, anchor-like and 
soul-sustaining, is based not upon phantoms, fabler, 
lies or guesses, but upon such " immutable things" 
as the word and oath of the eternal God himself. 
It reaches for its objects beyond this mortal state, 
for " if in this life only we have hope in Christ we 
are of all men most miserable." 1 Cor. xv : 19. It 
is one of the great essentials of Christianity, for 
*' now abideth faith, hope, and love." True, the 
greatest of these is love^ but the least of these is 
greater than anything which the world can bestow. 
1 Cor. xiii : 13. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 15 

I shall now present some of the objects of my 
hope, and shall quote the very words of that scrip- 
ture upon which I base my joyful anticipations of 
the things revealed in the sacred word, and made 
sure through the divine promises. 

I. I have hope of possessing eternal life. '* In 
HOPE of ETERNAL LIFE, which God that cannot lie 
hath promised before the world began. '^ ^ Titus i : 
2. " That being justified by his grace, we should 
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal 
LIFE.'^ Titus iii : 7. " The life that now is'' is brief, 
uncertain, and in some respects burdensome. But 
whether we love it or loathe it we must part with 
it. Judgment has passed upon all men to condem- 
nation. All have sinned and come short of the 
glory of God. All are involved in the misfortune 
of a common mortality. Diseases prey upon man ; 
infirmities increase with advancing years ; a thou- 
sand casualties endanger his existence — life glides 
away from his grasp ; and death, stern and icy, 
comes in to close the scene. We all do fade as a 
leaf. We wither, droop and die. And when life 
is gone, what remains ? The wisdom of the wise, 
and the understanding of the prudent ; the might 
of the strong and the glory of the great, all find a 
period here. Our life is so short that we can learn 

* Pro chronon aionion, *' Before the times of the ages." — Mackntght. 
The ages are evidently the Jewish periods of time, and the promise was 
made before these, even to Abraham and to the early patriarchs — though 
of course it was not before the world began as there were no men to receive 
promises before that begun. 



16 Beasons 

but little and can do less. Life is the grand iSrst 
thing without which nothing can be possessed, en- 
joyed, or accomplished. Hence God puts life as 
among the greatest blessings, and the loss of it as 
the greatest loss man can endure ; for it carries all 
other losses with it. So to prepare the way for the 
reception of all that the wealth of his love bestows 
he imparts life first, ^' The gift of God is eternal 
LIFE.'' Rom. vi : 23. All scripture unites in declar- 
ing its excellency. " His favor is life." Christ is 
" the Resurrection and the life." " The life was 
the light of men." He had " the words of eternal 
life." These words received into the heart, be- 
come in us ^' a well of water springing up into 
EVERLASTING LIFE." '' He that believeth on the Son 
hath EVERLASTING LIFE," and " We know that we 
have passed from death unto life because we love 
the brethren." 

But this life, though begun through faith, by the 
engrafting of that word which is "living and power- 
ful," and which " liveth and abideth forever," with- 
in the Christian's soul, is not yet revealed in all 
the glorious plenitude of its future perfection. We 
are yet under sentence of death, yet in bondage to 
the law of death. " For ye are dead, and your life 
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, there. 
fore, who is our LIFE, shall appear, then shall ye 
also appear with him in glory." Col. iii : 3, 4. 
Hence as the full manifestation of this life is re- 
served, as it is hid with Christ in God, it is a pro- 



For the Rope that is in 3Ie. 17 

per object of hope. No mortal can bestow even 
temporal life, save in the mere acts of animal repro- 
duction. There is not enough of power, and wealth, 
and wisdom, and science, and experience, in this 
wide world to give life to a worm, a cricket, or a 
fly. Temporal life is from God — how much more 
so is " ETERNAL life !" To Him in whom even now 
'^ we LIVE, and move, and have our being/' I look 
for the life that is to come. Upon the promises of 
'* the living Father," upon the strong assurances of 
,he Lord of life and glory, I securely rest *' in 
flOPE of ETERNAL LIFE, which Grod, that cannot lie, 
promised before the ages begun." 

I hope to live — To know the meaning of that word, 
" With long LIFE will I satisfy him, and I will show 
him my salvation." I hope to live long enough ; 
not ten or twenty, or an hundred years, not thou- 
sands or tens of thousands or millions of ages, but 
to all eternity. Here we steer our barks amid the 
narrow channels and amid the threatening dangers 
of mortality and of death. I hope by and by to 
launch forth and lose sight of this dark, rockbound 
c(5ast, and sail on the shoreless ocean of eternity 
amid the lifting up of its everlasting floods, and the 
sweet soundings of its gently heaving billows. I 
hope to live when time and sin, and sorrow and 
death and pain are done, and are fading from our 
view in the dim distance of the receding past, 
while eternal glory rolls in its floods of brightness 
on my enraptured soul. 



18 BecLsons 

Our ideas of life are so small we can hardly grasp 
a larger life. Now we call a man old at eighty 
years ; then he shall be young at eighty millions. 
We part for a month or a year, doubting if we shall 
ever meet again, but then we can arrange to meet 
after an absence of fifty thousand years, and be 
sure no death shall overturn our calculations. The 
works we here begin, and then lay aside for a lit- 
tle while, we never have time to finish, but there 
if delayed ten thousand years by some trivial in- 
terruption, we can return to our work, our study, 
or our joy, and have no fear that our time is too 
short to do it justice. I hope for eternal life, for 
room enough, and time enough to gratify every 
longing of my heart. I, though a man of dust, a 
sinner saved by grace, have hope through Christ 
of a life such as mortals never have witnessed or 
enjoyed or comprehended. A life to which that 
of Methuselah should be infinitesimal, and that of 
Adam and Enoch should be but infancy. A life 
which shall keep pace with the unmeasured years 
of Deity — a Jifie which shall soar aloft amid the 
countless periods of the infinite futurity — a life 
which shall abide in sublime and cloudless glory 
through all the ages of eternity. 

0, is not this a grand and lofty hope ? ^ Can 
mortal man aspire so high ? Yes, " this is the 
record that God hath given unto us eternal life, 
and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son 
hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not 



For the Hope that is in Me. 19 

life/' 1 John V : 11, 12. Perishing mortal, will you 
not seek this life ? Dying man, will you not " fight 
the good fight of faith," and " lay hold on eternal 
life V^ No other life is valuable, no other is secure. 
Seek that life and live forever more. 

II. I hope for full, and final, and eternal salva- 
tion. '^ But let us who are of the day be sober, 
putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and 
for an helmet the HOPE OP salvation. For God 
hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain 
SALVATION by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for 
us that, whether we wake or sleep we should, live 
together with him." 1 Thess. v : 8-10. 

Salvation is deliverance or rescue. We all need 
to have deliverance from a thousand ills, and if we 
serve God he will finally deliver us. This salva- 
tion is already begun. We are saved through 
Christ even now, from the condemnation of past 
guilt ; being freely and fully pardoned : from the 
dominion of present sin ; by being led to love 
righteousness and hate iniquity : from the fear of 
death and of coming judgment ; by the conscious- 
ness that death cannot separate us from the love of 
Christ, and that in the day of judgment none shall 
lay anything to the charge of God's elect, since 
Christ who died and rose again maketh intercession 
for them on high. All this is blessed, great, and 
glorious, but yet it is incomplete. We need some- 
thing more. Our hope supplies it. 

There is yet in the future^ salvation from the 



20 Reasous 

grave — and so Christ is the Saviour of all men, for 
all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and 
shall come forth, they that have done good to the 
resurrection of life, and they that have done evil 
to the resurrection of damnation — some to ever- 
lasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt. John v : 27, 28. Daniel xii : 1-4. But 
though all men shall be saved or delivered from 
deaths yet this is not eternal salvation. Beyond 
this resurrection there is an especial salvation for 
those that believe and obey the Lord. " Israel shall 
be saved in (by) the Lord with an everlasting sal- 
vation, ye shall not be ashamed or confounded, 
world without end." Is. xlv : 17. *^ Being made 
perfect he became the author of eternal salvation 
to all them that obey him." Heb. v : 9. This sal- 
vation is perfect, complete, and perpetual. It lifts 
man upward above the realm of mists, and shades, 
and gloom — it bears him homeward to his rest. It 
rends the sepulchre and bids its darkness flee. It 
pours the sunshine of eternity forever in upon his 
ransomed soul. It delivers him from pain and sor- 
row and sighing ; from the ills of life and the 
agonies of death ; from all the evils which men 
have experienced, from all the sorrows that mor- 
tals have known. It lands him beyond the voice 
of scorn, beyond the strife of tongues, beyond the 
horrors of war, and the tumults of worldliness. At 
last he reaches the heavenly shore ; his feet at 
last stand ^* within thy gates, Jerusalem," and he 

is SAVED. 



For the Hope that is in 3fe. 21 

I hope to be saved- -fully, finally, and eternally. 
I hope to be rescued, delivered, redeemed and 
forever freed from all the ills, pains, dangers, bur- 
dens, and infirmities caused by sin and Satan, and 
I hope to be permitted to shine in the joy and 
light and glory of God forevermore. And is not 
this a mighty hope ? What better hope can there 
be as an " helmeV^ to save a reeling brain, and hide 
a head battered by the blows of countless enemies, 
than the hope of salvation ? — this great, grand 
thought that all will come right at last ! — all things 
are working for good, — the shades will vanish, 
the clouds depart, the tears be wiped away, the 
diseases rebuked, the pains removed, death des- 
troyed, the grave emptied of its treasures, and all 
the realms of light and love, and eternal gladness 
shall be opened to our joyful gaze. Reader, have 
you this hope ? If not I beg you to seek it now, 
for ^' how shall we escape if we neglect so great 
SALVATION V^ Heb. ii : 3. 

III. I hope for the resurrection of the dead. 
" Of the HOPE and resurrection of the dead I am 
called in question.'' Acts xxiii : 6. " But this I 
confess unto thee, that after the way that they 
call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, 
believing all things which are written in the law 
and in the prophets, and have hope towards God, 
which they themselves also allow, that there shall 
be a RESURRECTION of the dead, both of the just and 
the unjust." Acts xxiv : 14, 15. '^ And now I stand 



22 Reasons 

and am judged for the hope of the promise made of 
God unto our fathers : unto which our twelve tribes, 
instantly serving God, day and night, hope to 
come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am 
accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a 
thing incredible with you that God should raise 
THE DEAD ?" Acts xxvi : 6-8. " Blessed be the God 
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which accord- 
ing to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again, 
unto a lively HOPE, by the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ from the dead.^' 1 Pet : 1, 3. 

The word hope in the Greek has, as I have stated, 
a broad sense including anticipation, or even ap- 
prehension, and when Paul alludes to the resurrec- 
tion of the unjust, he may have in his mind this 
sense of the term as he did once on another occa- 
sion. 2 Cor. viii : 5. But though the resurrection 
of the dead shall bring forth the wicked to just and 
terrible condemnation, it is nevertheless to the true 
Christian an object of ardent and joyous hope. 
We hope for rain and sunshine, although these 
bring forth not only wheat but tares, not only pre- 
cious fruits, but thorns and briars which are nigh 
unto cursing, whose end is to be burned. We 
value learning though it certainly qualifies many a 
villain to do worse injury to his fellows than he 
would without it. Time is precious, though many 
make the blessing a curse to themselves, and so a 
resurrection from the grave is desirable and wor- 
thy of our hopes, even though in that resurrection 



For the Hope that is in Me. 23 

shall at last be comprehended and brought forth 
some, like one of whom it has been written, "good 
were it for that man that he had never been born/' 
Mark xiv : 21. I hope to be eaised up if I am called 
to die ; and I hope that those who have been conquer- 
ed by death and swallowed up by the grave, will 
be delivered up at the call of death's great over- 
comer. And this hope, so bright and cheering, is 
no new or unheard of hope. It was the hope of 
the patriarch of Uz, who said : " There is hope of a 
tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, 
and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, 
and the stock thereof die in the ground ; yet 
through the scent of water it will bud, and bring 
forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and 
wasteth away : yea, man giveth up the ghost, and 
WHERE IS HE ? As the waters fail from the sea, and 
the flood decayeth and drieth up : so man lieth 

DOWN, and RISETH NOT : TII.L the HEAVENS he NO MORE, 

they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their 
sleep. that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, 
{SheoVj that thou wouldest keep me secret, until 
thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me 
a set time, and remember me ! If a man die, shall 
he live again ? all the days of my appointed time 
will I WAIT, till my change come. Thou shalt call, 
and I WILL ANSWER THEE ; thou wilt have a desire 
to the work of thy hands." Job xiv : 7-15. 

The same hope of being remembered and called 



24 Reasons 

by his God from his long repose when his change 
should come, is found in another place, where, in 
the midst of all the darkness of his bitter tempta- 
tions, he desires to leave to mankind as an ever- 
lasting heritage, the engraven record of his confi- 
ding trust in God. 

" Oh, that my words might now be written down 1 
Oh, that they might be engraved on a tablet I 
With a pen of iron and with lead. 
That they might be carved forever on a rock ! 
That I do know my Living Redeemer ; 
That at the end, he shall stand upon the earth : 
And after I awake shall this be brought to pass, 
That I shall see God of my flesh, 
Inasmuch as I myself shall behold him mine. 
And MINE EYES shall see him and not as a stran- 
ger ; 

The desires of my breast will be fulfilled." 

Job xix : 23-27.* 

This was also the hope of the Patriarch David, 
who *^ is not ascended into the heavens," but ^^ is 
both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us 
unto this day." Acts ii : 29-34. For he declares, 
" As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness, 
I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." 
Ps. xvii : 15. " Thou which hast shewed me great 
and sore troubles shalt quicken me again, and shall 
bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 

* Fry's translation of Job. 



For lite Hojpc fhnf i^ in Me, 25 

Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me 
on every side. I will also praise thee with the 
psaltery, even thy truth, my God : unto thee 
will I sing with the harp, thou Holy One of Is- 
rael. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing un- 
to thee ; and my soul which thou hast redeemed." 
Ps. Ixxi : 20-23. ^' God will redeem my soul from 
the power of the grave ] (Sheol) for he shall receive 
me.^^ Ps. xlix : 15. 

Isaiah had this same hope when he sang, " He 
shall swallow up death in victory, and the Lord 
God shall wipe away tears from off all faces, and 
the rebuke of his people shall he take away from 
off all the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it." 
*^ Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead 
BODY shall they arise ! Awake and sing, ye that 
dwell in dust, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, 
and the earth shall cast out her dead. Come, my 
people, and enter into thy chambers and shut thy 
doors about thee, and hide thyself for a little mo- 
ment till the indignation be overpast, for behold 
the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the in- 
habitants of the earth for their iniquity : the earth 
also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more 
cover her slain." Isa. xxv : 8 ; xxvi : 19-21. 

The same hope inspired the burning eloquence 
pf the prophet Ezekiel when he declared, " Thus 
saith the Lord God : Behold, my people, I will 
open your graves, and cause you to come up out of 
your GRAVES, and bring you into the land of Israel. 



26 Beasons 

And ve shall know that I am Jehovah, when I 
have opened your graves, my people, and brought 
you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit 
in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in 
your own land: Then shall ye know that I Jeho- 
vah have spoken it, and performed it, saith the 
Lord." Ezek. xxxvii : 12, 14. This was the hope 
of the prophets, the hope of the patriarchs, and 
" the hope of IsraeZ," for which in after times Paul 
could say, *' I am bound with this chain." 

This same hope was before the prophet Daniel, 
who was to go his way and " rest," and stand in his 
lot " at the end of the days," when " many that 
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to 
EVERLASTING LIFE, some to shame and everlasting 
contempt, and they that be wise shall shine as the 
brightness of the firmament, and they that turn 
many to righteousness, as the stars forever and 
ever." Dan. xii : 2, 13. 

This hope was the hope of the apostles of the 
Lamb — of Peter, who was begotten again to a 
lively hope, ^' by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
from the dead," — of Paul who labored " if by any 
means" he " might attain unto the resurrection from 
the dead" — of John, who " saw the dead small and 
great stand before God" — of the Thessalonians, 
who in view of it sorrowed not " even as others 
that had no hope," — and indeed it was the hope of 
all who believed in Him that said, " I am the re- 
surrection and the life," " every one which seeth 



For the Hope that is in Me, 27 

the Son and believeth ©n him, may have everlast^ 
ing life : and I will raise him up at the last day/' 
John vi : 40. " The hour is coming, in the which 
all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and 
shall come forth ; they that have done good unto 
the resurrection of life, and they that have done 
EVIL unto the resurrection of damnation." John v : 
28, 29. 

This hope is my hope. I make no covenant with 
death or agreement with sheol. I have no love for 
death. Nevertheless if I must die I die hopefully. 
If buried " my flesh shall rest in hope" — in hope of 
the resurrection of the dead. 

The night-shadow is not long — the morn will 
break in glory by and by. Our Redeemer liveth. 
He has burst the grave, vanquished death, and 
made known the path of life to those who follow 
him. He arose visibly, personally and bodily. 
He is the first fruits, the pledge, the sample "of 
them that slept." He will come back and send his 
messengers to gather in his whole harvest in due 
time. He hath the keys of hades and of death, and 
shall unlock those dark abodes and reclaim his 
jewels which are hid in dust and darkness there. 
I shall behold him. Mine eyes shall see the King 
in his glory. His voice, sweeter than all melody 
and mightier than all other voices, shall break in 
upon the sleep of ages and charm the dull ear of 
death. His power shall rend the solid marbles and 
stir the slumbering myriads to conscious life and 



28 Reasons 

glorious immortality. The trumpet shall sound 
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we 
shall be changed. Quick as the electric flash the 
long dormant life shall be rekindled in an immortal 
flame. This earth, groaning and travailing in pain, 
shall heave its last mighty throe, and from it shall 
break forth an immortal host, countless and glo- 
rious as the very stars of heaven. I shall see 
loved faces then. I shall hear loved voices then ! 
I shall clasp friendly hands then. I shall gaze rap- 
turously then into eyes which tears no more shall 
dim. I shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in 
the kingdom of God. I shall behold martyrs and 
saints, apostles and confessors. Those that led 
me to the Lamb of God, that taught my lips to 
pray, that bathed me in the waters of an holy bap- 
tism shall be there. I shall meet unnumbered 
brethren in the Lord, now unknown — then well 
known — now sorrowful, then always rejoicing. I 
shall meet those that have heard the word of Christ 
at my mouth, and whom in Christ Jesus I have 
begotten in the Gospel. I trust that Christ's 
favor shall place me among the saved ones there, 
and they shall be " my hope and joy and crown of 
rejoicing, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ 
at his coming." Reader, shall I not meet you there, 
shining like an angel amid the radiant ranks of the 
redeemed ? let us be there in the glorious re- 
surrection morning. 

This is my hope. Those dear as life to me shall 



For the Hope that is in 3Ie. 29 

come to meet the Saviour in that day, and we shall 
be " forever with the Lord," and forever safe in his 
presence from all the ille of life or death, of earth 
or hell. Compared with such a prospect, how vain 
are worldly hopes. What are the rewards of earth 
compared with the glories of being " recompensed 
at the resurrection of the just" ? Luke xiv : 14. 
What are the joys of earth compared with the gush- 
ing raptures of that glorious hour ? What are the 
friendships of earth compared with those associa^ 
tions "where death and the tomb shall divide hearts 
no more ?" Reader, have you the hope of all these 
joys ? Is your trust in Him who is '' the eesur- 
RECTION and the life ?" Then happy are you, for 
you are " rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, 
instant in prayer." Hold fast unto the end, and 
Christ shall give to you eternal life and raise you 
up " at the last day." 

IV. I have hope of glory — the glory 'OF God. 
^' Therefore being justified by faith we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
also we have access by faith unto this grace where- 
in we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of 
God." Rom. v. 1-4. " To whom God would make 
known what is the riches of the glory of this mys- 
tery among the Gentiles ; which is Christ in you 
the HOPE OF GLORY." Col. i : 27. 

I hope for the glory of God. Not the glory of 
earth, that dims and fades and fleets before my 
gaze, but the glory of God. That which bathed 



30 Reasons 

Mount Sinai with unearthly brightness — that which 
sat like a cloud of light upon the mercy seat ; that 
which shone from heaven upon the wondering 
shepherds to whom angels sang their songs at 
Jesus' birth ; that which came down upon the mount 
of transfiguration, when Moses and Blias appeared 
in glory, and the fishermen of Galilee saw " the 
kingdom of God come with power," and " were 
eye-witnesses of his majesty." That glory which 
Christ, having suffered, entered into — even the 
glory which he had with the Father " before the 
world was" — that glory which " shall be revealed 
and all flesh shall see it together" — that of which 
Jesus prayed, " I will that those whom thou hast 
given me, be where I am and behold my glory ;" 
that glory, of which Paul wrote, " For our light 
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for 
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
GLORY, while we look not at the things that are 
seen, but at the things that are unseen." " For I 
reckon that the sufferings of this present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory that 
shall be revealed in us." " When Christ who is 
our life shall appear, then shall we also appear 
with him in glory." He ^^ shall change our vile body, 
that it may bo fashioned like unto his glorious 
body." *' So also is the resurrection of the dead. It 
is sown in dishonor, it is raised in GLORY ; it is sown 
in weakness, it is raised in power ; it is sown a 
natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." " Ther^ 



For the Hope that is in Me, 31 

fore I endure all things for the elects' sake, that 
they also may obtain salvation that is in Christ Je- 
sus with eternal glory/' 

Such are some of the many words of God 
upon which I base my hope of glory. Not 
a perishing glory like that of princes and po- 
tentates — not an accursed glory like that of 
conquerors whose laurele are wet with tears and 
red with gore — not like the glories of this world 
which pass at the approach of the grim king of ter- 
rors ; but the eternal glory of our glorious God, 
the splendor of his kingdom, the light of his coun- 
tenance, the blessedness of his presence, and the 
untold and unimagined raptures of his everlasting 
home. 

This is my hope ; and is it not enough to make 
earthly pleasures seem as dross, and earthly sor- 
rows light? 0, is it not more glorious than all the 
hopes of mortal birth ? Give me this hope, though 
every other hope may fail, and I can triumph amid 
the ruin of earthly prospects, and the wreck of 
earthly joys. Over them all I can glory, for my 
faith and hope are set in God. 

V. I hope to be like Christ the Son of God. 

" Beloved, now are ye the sons of God ; and it 
doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we 
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like 
HIM ; for we shall see him as be is. And every 
man that hath this hope (ep'auto) upon Him, purifieth 
HIMSELF, even as he is pure." 1 Johii iii : 2, 3, -^ Fqj 



32 Reasons 

as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall 
also bear the image of the heavenly/' 1 Cor. xv : 
49. He "shall change our vile body, that it may 
be fashioned like unto his glorious body, ac- 
cording to the working whereby he is able to 
subdue all things unto himself." Phil, ii : 21. " I 
shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.'' 
Ps. xvii : 15. 

This is my hope. A hope of being forever like 
Christ. I hope to be like him morally ; pure, holy, 
guileless and sincere. I hope to be like him men- 
tally ; freed from ignorance, perversity, perplexi- 
ty, and uncertainty. I hope to be like him physi- 
cally ; and bear and image forth, in this vile body, 
the likeness of his resurrection glory in the world 
to come. But as my soul can only show his love, 
when he hath first shed it abroad in my heart by 
the Holy Spirit ; so my body can never reflect his 
image until transformed by his Almighty power. 
Then shall the weakness and pain of mortality all 
be gone ; the ills and woes of earth forever depart- 
ed ; infirmity, deformity, and weakness shall be for- 
gotten, and the joys and glories of the glorified 
and Triumphant Head shall fill each member of 
that Church ^^ which: is his body, the fullness of him 
that filleth all in all." Ah ! is not this a good hope ? 
To be like Christ in whom all excellencies com- 
bine ? For the disciple to be with and like his 
Master — surely this is honor and joy enough for 
one whose only boasting is that of a sinner saved 



For the Hojie ihat is in Me, 33 

by grace. But yet there is more than ihis reserv- 
ed for the faithful who " hope unto the end.'' 

VI. I hope for the glorious appearing of Jesus 
Christ '*in the clouds of heaven with power and 
great glory." '' For the grace of God that bring- 
eth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching 
us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this 
present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and 
the glorious appearing of the great God, and our 
Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, 
that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and pu- 
rify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works.'' Titus ii : 11-14. 

" Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be 
sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to 
be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus 
Christ." 1 Pet. i : 13. 

" For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of re- 
joicing ? Are not even ye in the presence of our 
Lord Jesus Christ at his COMING?" 1 Thess.ii : 19. 

*' But I would not have you to be ignorant, 
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that 
ye sorrow not, even as others which have NO hope. 
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God 
bring with him. For this we say unto you by the 
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and re- 
main unto the COMING OF the Lord shall not pre- 
vent them which are asleep. For the Lord him- 



34 Beasons 

SELF shall DESCEND from HEAVEN with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : then 
we w^hich are alive and remain shall be caught up 
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord 
in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 
Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.'' 
1 Thess. iv : 13-18. 

This is my hope — the hope of beholding Christ 
coming in his regal majesty, crowned with many 
crowns, glorified in his saints and admired in all 
them that believe. And this event is of especial 
importance, because all the other objects of my 
hope are to be received in their fullness and per- 
fection at the consumation of this " blessed hope." 
The hope of Eternal Life is realized *^ when the 
Son of man shall come in his glory with all the 
holy angels,'' for then the wicked shall go away 
into everlasting punishment, " but the righteous 
unto LIFE eternal." Matt, xxv : 46. The hope of 
salvation reaches to the time when he who once was 
offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear no more 
sin bearer, but " unto salvation" for them that ex- 
pect him. Heb. ix : 28. The hope of the resurrec- 
tion reaches onward to the last day, when he who 
is the Resurrection and the life shall come to raise 
his people from their graves ; — the hope of glory 
can never have reached its full accomplishment 
until the glorious appearing of Christ when " we 
also shall appear with him in glory ;" and the hope 



For the Hope that is in Me. 35 

of being like Jesus is referred directly to the time 
" when he shall appear/' and " we shall be like him, 
for w^e shall see him as he is." 

All these hopes centre in that day. All our ex- 
pectations converge to that glorious event. Around 
that radiant morning's dawn, hang all the foresha- 
dowed and predicted splendors which filled the 
minds of prophets and apostles with rapture and 
delight. It will be a glorious day. I hope to be- 
hold its light. I hope to see my Saviour ; no more 
the man of sorrows, or the bleeding Lamb ; but the 
lion of the Tribe of Judah, the prince of the kings 
of the earth, the king of kings, and lord of lords. 
I hope to see him in peace, to be so kept by his 
power, and saved by his grace, that I may have 
confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his 
coming. I hope to hear him speak my worthless 
name, and — 0, can it be ! — to hear him say to me, 
" Well done !" 

And is there not enough in this hope to inspire 
with gladness each believing heart that rejoices in 
the saving grace of Christ? The thought and 
hope that the long absent master shall return to 
claim his own, — shall dry their tears and repair 
their losses ; shall raise their friends from death, 
shall engird them with immortal strength, shall 
save them from all their foes, shall make them like 
himself, shall bid them enter into his joy, behold 
his glory, abide in his tabernacle, sit on his throne, 
gaze upon his countenance, listen to his voice, eel- 



HB Beasons 

ebrate his praises, and so ever be " with the Lord." 
Ah ! is not this a joyous hope ? And such a hope 
as this is mine. I hope to see Jesus Christ himself 
appear again in the clouds of heaven, in glory and 
in majesty, to save his people and to overthrow his 
enemies. Do you ask of me a reason of this hope ? 
Turn back then and read the scriptures I have 
quoted, and say have I not reasons there ? But I 
have other reasons, a few of which I .will present. 

1. I hope for it, because the ancient patriarchs 
expected and predicted that event. " And Enoch 
also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these 
saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands 
of his saints. To execute judgment upon all, and 
convince all that are ungodly among them of all 
their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly com- 
mitted, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly 
sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14, 15. 

Job declared, " I know that my Redeemer liveth, 
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the 
EARTH. '^ Job xix : 25. And even Balaam, wicked 
as he was, when once the Spirit of God came upon 
him, was forced to say, while beholding the vision 
of the Almighty, and predicting what should hap- 
pen in the latter days, " I shall see him, but not 
now : I shall behold him, but not nigh : there shall 
come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise 
out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, 
and destroy all the children of Sheth . . . Out of 
Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and 



For the Hope that is in 3Ie. 5/ 

«ihall destroy him that remaineth of the city." 
\umb. xxiv : 17, 19. 

Balaam has never yet seen the rising of that Star. 
He died the death of the sinful, notwithstanding 
all his pious desires. Yet he shall see that Star 
and behold him but " not nigh." When they '' that 
pierced him" shall see him, and they that condemn- 
ed him shall behold him " sitting on the right hand 
of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven," 
then shall this prophecy receive its full accomplish- 
ment. 

2. I hope for the Lord^s appearing, because holy 
prophets have foretold it. Said David, the sweet 
Psalmist of Israel, " Our Glod shall come and shall 
not keep silence : a fire shall devour before him, 
and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. 
He shall call to the heavens from above, and to 
the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather 
MY SAINTS TOGETHER UNTO ME ; thosc that have made 
a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens 
shall declare his righteousness ; for God is judge 
himself." Ps. 1: 3-6. 

" Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth ; 
the world also shall be established that it shall not 
be moved : he shall judge the people righteously. 
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be 
glad ; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof 
Let the field be joyful, and all ihdit is therein : then 
shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the 
Lord : for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the 



38 Seasons 

EARTH ; he shall judge the world with righteous* 
ness, and the people with his truth." Ps. xcvi : 
10-13. 

Isaiah also pours forth in glowing strains the 
same grand truth in words like these : " Strengthen 
ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, 
fear not : behold, your God will come with ven- 
geance, even God with a recompense ; he will come 
and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be 
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstop- 
ped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and 
the tongue of the dumb sing : for in the wilderness 
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.'' 
Is. XXXV : 3-6. " Behold the Lord God will come 
with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him : 
behold, his reward is with him, and his work be- 
fore him." Is. xl : 10. "For, behold, the Lord 
will come with fire, and with his chariots like a 
whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his 
rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his 
sword will the Lord plead with all flesh : and the 
slain of the Lord shall be many." Is. Ixvi : 15, 16. 
" And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our 
God ; we have waited for him, and he will save us : 
this is the Lord ; we have waited for him, we will 
be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Is. xxv : 9. 

Such were the words in which Isaiah proclaimed 
the approaching advent of the mighty one. Eze- 
kiel also brought from the mouth of God this mes- 



For the Hope that is in Me. 39 

Bage concerning the crown and diadem of Judah : 
*' And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose 
day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus 
saith the Lord God : Remove the diadem, and take 
off the crown : this shall not le the same : exalt 
him that is low, and abase him that is high. 1 will 
overturn, overturn, overturn it : and it shall be no 
onore, until he come whose right it is ; and I will 
give it Km." Ezek. xxi : 25-27. And Daniel while 
foretelling the course of earthly empire from the 
times in which he lived to its final subversion, 
when the judgment should sit and the books be 
opened, said, '' I saw, in the night, visions ; and, be- 
hold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds 
OF heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and 
they brought him near before him. And there 
was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, 
that all people, nations, and languages, should serve 
him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that 
which shall not be destroyed.'' Dan. vii : 13-14. 

Thus did the ancient prophets of Israel, in nu- 
merous places, predict the coming glory of the 
everlasting kingdom of the great God, and the tri- 
umphant appearing of his only begotten son. 

3. I hope for the appearing of the Saviour be- 
cause he himself has promised it. Many are his 
words which declare the fact ; thus he said : " the 
Son of man shall come in the glory of his father 
with his angels ; and then he shall reward every 



40 Reasons 

man according to his works." Matt, xvi : 27 ; and 
tliere were some standing there, who saw upon the 
mount of transfiguration a representation of his 
coming in his kingdom. Again, when he would 
comfort his sorrowing disciples, he gave to them 
this parting promise : ^^ Let not your heart be 
troubled : 3"e believe in God, believe also in me. 
In my Father's house are many mansions : if it 
were not so, I would have told 5^ou. I go to pre- 
pare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
place for you, I will come again, and receive you 
unto myself : that where I am, there ye may be 
also.'' John xiv : 1-3. 

4. I hope that my Saviour will come again, be- 
cause that when he departed, celestial visitants 
gave to his wondering followers assurance of his 
return. Jesus had led his disciples out to the 
brow of Olivet, and there gave to them his parting 
charge and his parting blessing. " And when he 
had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was 
taken up ; and a cloud received him out of their 
sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward 
heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by 
them in white apparel ; which also said. Ye men 
of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? 
This same Jesus which is taken up from you into 
heaven, ^hall so come in like manner as ye have 
SEEN him go into HEAVEN." Acts i I 9-11. No lan- 
guage could more clearly disclose the event for 
which I hope. " This same Jesus'' fixes the per- 



For tlie Hoioe that is in 3fe. 41 

sonality, and ''in like mcmTier as ye have seen him 
go/' the mode of his return. No sophistry can 
pervert the language, and no spiritual appearing 
can fulfil it. Upon this word I dare to rest my 
hope. 

5. I hope for it because the apostles continually 
expected, predicted, and alluded to it. Some 
twelve times in the two brief epistles to the Thes- 
salonians does Paul allude to this glorious event, 
and with such vivid and forceful rhetoric that 
some sceptics, universalists, and others have infer- 
red that Paul himself expected to live to see that 
day, and consequently that he was mistaken and un- 
inspired, forgetting that he himself said that that 
day should not come until the apostacy had first ap- 
peared, that the day was not " at hand,^^ or impend- 
ing, (enestehen) and that in the same passage where 
he speaks of the judging of *^ the quick and dead at 
his appearing and kingdom,'^ he says, " I am now 
ready to be offered and the time of my departure 
is at hand.^' Like Peter, who with a full understand- 
ing that he must by death " glorify God,'' neverthe- 
less spake of the time when Christ's glory should 
be revealed as the object of his hope, and joy, and 
trust. 2 Thess. ii : 12 ; 2 Tim. iv : 8 ; John xxi : 
18, 19. 1 Pet. iv : 4. 2 Pet. i : 15. 

The whole. apostolic church were filled with this 
" blessed hope.'' Paul tells us of their faith and 
how they '' turned to God from idols to serve the 
living and true God : and to wait for his son from 



42 Reasons 

HEAVEN, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, 
which delivered us from the wrath to come.'' 1 
Thess. i : 9, 10. Peter also gives charge to his 
brethren concerning their duty, and this is the 
grand motive which he uses to impress them to 
perform their responsibilities, " The elders which 
are among 5^ou, I exhort, who am also an elder, and 
a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a 
partaker, of the glory that shall be revealed : Feed 
the flock of God which is among you, taking the 
oversight thereof^ not by constraint, but willingly ; 
not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; neither 
as being lords over God's heritage, but being en- 
samples to the flock. And when the chief Shep- 
herd SHALL appear, ye shall receive a crown of 
glory that fadeth not away." 1 Pet. v : 1-4. James 
also uses the same motive for the comfort of his 
afflicted brethren, saying, *' Be patient therefore, 
brethren, unto the COMING OF the Lord. Behold, 
the husbandman w^aiteth for the precious fruit of 
the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he 
receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also pa- 
tient ; stablish your hearts : for the coming of the 
Lord draweth nigh." James v : 7, 8. Jude echoes 
the ancient warning, " behold the Lord cometh 
with ten thousands of his saints." John exclaims : 
''" Behold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye 
shall see him, and they also which pierced him : 
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of 
him. Even so, Amen." Rev. i : 7 ; and finally, the 



For the Hope that is in Me. 43 

last recorded promise of Christ to his church, the 
last parting postscript in his last letter to his suf- 
fering bride, the last link in the great prophetic 
chain that binds the church to her anchor " within 
the vail/' the glorious sentence that concludes, and 
perfects, and seals up "the revelation of God to man 
is, " Surely I come quickly !" And from my heart, 
like that of John and of the universal church, wells 
up the responsive prayer, ^* AmenI even so, come 
Lord Jesus." Rev. xxii : 20. 

Such are the teachings of Patriarchs, Apostles, 
Prophets, Celestial Witnesses, and our Lord him- 
self concerning this great object of Christian hope. 
These are some of the weighty reasons that I have 
for cherishing this blessed, this glorious hope. 
Upon these it is firmly grounded. It is neither 
vague, nor vain. It is a good hope through grace, 
and with it God has given us " everlasting consola- 
tion." It is a lively hope — a hope like an anchor 
to the soul, both sure and steadfast, reaching to that 
within the vail, whither Jesus, the forerunner, is, 
for us, entered." Heb. vi : 19. 

Reader, is this your hope ? Are you .so securely 
trusting in Christ that you can have confidence in 
him and rejoice in the prospects of meeting him ? 
Can you be joyful in this hope ? If not, I pray 
you, flee to Christ, and, by believing, receive 
"everlasting consolation, good hope through grace,'^ 
and joy, and peace eternal in him. 



44 Reasons 

The Christian's hope, as revealed in the Holy 
Scriptures, resting upon the promises of God, em- 
bracing eternal life, glory, salvation, immortality, a 
resurrection, and all other blessings v^hich accompany 
the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a subject 
of paramount interest and importance to those vv^ho 
have learned to trust in Jesus Christ, and wait 
with patience for His salvation. It supplants the 
vain and evanescent hopes of earth ; it recalls the 
mind from the vacillation and aimlessn os of its 
worldly bewilderment ; and it settles and steadies the 
soul by attaching to it something '' both sure and 
steadfast/' It takes up the heart with a mighty 
attraction, and sweeps it into the beginning of a 
great and endless orbit, where it shall ever be drawn 
forward as by an unbroken bond, and thus run on 
in a race of undiminished glory throughout the 
cycles of eternity. 

And as Jesus Christ is '^ our hope," we most na- 
turally long for the day when he shall appear, and 
when we, no longer perturbed by the attractions of 
earthly things, shall enter fully upon our eternal 
race, — when "^ the hope laid up for us in heaven," 
shall be fully realized, and we shall participate the 
fulness of our eternal joy. Hope deferred maketh 
the heart sick, though when the hope is surc^ we 
can afford to wait for its full realization. When 
our souls are filled with the deep consciousness that 
Q-od's word will be accomplished, — that our Lord 



For the Hope that is in Me, 45 

will come and give us life, and glory, and joy, and 
immortality, and eternal blessedness ; what matters 
it though years may roll away, and changes may 
come, and shadows, and storms, and tempests, may 
intervene ; if there shall yet be peace, and light, 
and joy and blessing eternal at last ? And our 
certainty of reaching this final goal of triumph, en- 
ables us to exercise '' the work of faith,"" '• the labor 
of love,"' and the '^ patience of hope^' amid all our 
trials here. And the hope of the Christian has such 
immutable grounds, and such glorious objects, that 
it, of all others, should inspire patience and unfail- 
ing confidence. 

But glorious as our hope is, and always has been 
of itself, one fact seems to shed increasing lustre on 
it as time wears away. ^^ Oiir salvation is nearer 
than when we believed."" We are four thousand 
years less distant from those glories^ than were the 
patriarchs when they looked for and predicted them. 
We are two or three thousand years nearer to them 
than were the prophets, when they foresaw and fore- 
told these blessino-s. We are more than eio-hteen hun- 
dred years nearer to them than were they who heard 
the Saviour say, ^^ I will come again ;" or than they 
who ^' turned from idols to serve the living God, and 
to wait for His son from heaven. Even Jesus, that 
delivered us from the wrath to come."" 1 Thess. i : 10. 

How near we are to that day, I dare not presume 
to tell. I do ^ot know. I have no evidence that 



46 Reasons 

others do. Many persons have made sad mistakes 
when they have dared to think and speak too posi- 
tively, concerning ''the times and the seasons, which 
the Father hath put in his own power.'' Acts i : 7. 
Our Lord would have his whole church awaiting 
with watchfulness his return ; hence he says: "Watch, 
for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of 
man cometh ;" and^ as if he would not limit this 
admonition to any single age, he said : '' What I 
gay unto you^ I say unto all ; watch !" We are 
therefore to maintain a position of constant watchful- 
ness, so that that day shall not come upon us unawares, 
or as a thief ? Matt, xxiv : 44 ; Mark xiii : 37. 

And as the weary night- watcher catches with joy 
the first gray tint that tells of coming morn, so those 
who do wait for^ the Lord " more than they that 
watch for the morning/' need make no excuses for 
all their earnest nnd watchful gazing to see if there 
are tokens of the approach of Him whom their souls 
love. And it cannot be wrong or presumptuous to 
observe the grand and prominent outlines and inci- 
dents, which stand like landmarks and milestones to 
tell us of our progress in our mortal course, and of 
oar proximity to our final goal. Nay, if the Jew^s 
were condemned as hypocrites because they could 
'' discern the face of the skj^,'' but could not ■' dis- 
cern the signs of the times,'' and if terrible calami- 
ties came upon them because they knew not '' the 
time of their visitation/' surely it may well be re- 



For the Hope that is in Mt. 47 

garded as presumption in us, if having been fore- 
warned, we refuse to listen to that apostolic word, 
which says : 

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy j 
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto 
a LIGHT that shineth in a dark place, until the day 
DAWN, and the day star arise. In your hearts know- 
ing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of 
any private interpretation. For the prophecy came 
not in old time by the will of man ; but holy men of 
Grod spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost/' 
2 Peter i : 19-21. 

Let us then carefully read some of those " sure 
words,'' and observe their teachings. 

I hope to behold my Saviour, in the visible glory 
of His coming, not long hence ; and with meekness 
and fear, I would give some of the numerous reasons 
for that hope. God help me to choose them wisely^ 
and you to ponder them carefully ! 

I. The great king of Babylon once dreamed of the 
chief kingdoms of the earth, under the figure of a 
gigantic image of resplendent brightness, having in 
its composition five different elements or materials. 
The head was gold, the breast and arms silver, th^ 
belly and sides of brass, the legs of iron, and the 
feet of iron and clay^ or pottery. He saw after- 
wards a stone, torn from the mountain's brow by an 
unseen force, rushing down upon the image, strik- 
ing it upon its feet, breaking and grinding the 



48 Reasons 

whole to powder, so that the mountain wind bore 
it away like chaff from off the threshing floor, and 
then this same stone '' became a great mountain, 
and FILLED the whole earth." 

Now it is clear from the language of the chapter, 
that this image of a man, represented man's govern^ 
ment in the world, and the succession of great em- 
pires which should arise. What the Stone signified 
is equally plain. The explanation as given by the 
Prophet Daniel to the king of Babylon is as fol- 
lows : 1. " Thou art this head of gold.'' 2. "After 
thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee/' 
i. e., SILVER. 3. '^ And another third kingdom of 
BRASS, which shall bear rule over all the earth.'' 
4. " And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as 
iron." 5. " And as the toes of the feet were part of 
iron and part of clay — the kingdom shall be divi- 
ded — it shall be partly strong and partly broken,'^' 
Q, '' And in t^ose days shall the Grod of heaven set 
up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed . . . 
but it shall break in pieces and consume all these 
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever," This everlast- 
ing kingdom is represented by the Stone, which "be- 
came a great mountain and filled the whole earth." 

Nothing can be more plain than the fact that the 
first of these kingdoms then existed in the times of 
Daniel himself, — another thing is equally plain, 
namely, as all earthly kingdoms are not yet " broken 
in pieces and consumed^'' we have not yet reached 



For the Hope that is in Me, 49 

the end of the vision, the establishment of the ever- 

Jasting kingdom of the God of Heaven. Hence we 

.re somewhere on this chain of events^ past the be- 

inning, but not yet arrived at the end. Where are 

i^ in this grand course of human empire ? 

'The first kingdom was Babylon ; this is evident 
frocQ the- very language used, ''Thou art this head 
of gold/' The second, or silver kingdom, is that of 
the Medians and Persians by whom the kingdom 
of Bxbylon was overthrown. Dan. v. 30, 31. The 
third kingdom of brass, represents '' the brazen- 
coated Greeks, '^ as Homer calls them, who, under 
the leadership of Alexander the Great, overcame 
the empire of the Medians and Persians, and estab- 
lished the Macedonian empire upon its ruins. The 
fourth kingdom is the mighty empire of the Eo- 
MANS, which ruled the world when Christ was born, 
and like massive iron, broke in pieces whatever op- 
posed it. The iron and clay or pottery represent 
the division of that kingdom, which subsequently 
occurred some four or five hundred years after Christ, 
resulting in the establishment of a number of Euro- 
pean kingdoms, which remain, '^partly strong and 
partly broken ^' to this day. Beyond this is the 
coming of the mighty Stone, which shall break in 
pieces and consume all others, and shall become an 
universal kingdom, the kingdom of " the God of 
heaven," and shall stand forever. 

Now the grand question recurs, where are we in 



50 Reasons 

this line of events ? We are not under the rule of 
Babylon, the golden head ; for that passed away some 
'five hundred and thirty years before Christ. That 
certainly is past. We are not under the rule of thf 
silver kingdom, the Medians and Persians, for their 
superiority, beginning at the conquest of Babyloi, 
was overthrown by Alexander some three hundred 
and thirty years before Christ, or more than two 
thousand years ago. Then the Grecian empire was 
first divided, and subsequently its several di virions 
were overthrown, till Egypt, the last remaining one, 
bowed to the sceptre of Rome about thirty years be- 
fore Christ. The period of Rome's iron-like gran- 
deur and majesty has long since passed away, and 
the pen and genius of a sceptic have been enlisted 
to describe its "Decline and Fall.'' But when 
Rome fell, no other power came up to assume her 
fallen crown, or sway her prostrate sceptre of uni- 
versal empire. No conqueror since then has been 
able to found an empire that could rule the world. 
The fragments of old Rome remain, "partly strong," 
like France and Britain, " partly broken," like Por- 
tugal, and Spain, and Hungary. And here, during 
some thirteen hundred years, have these fragment- 
ary portions of Imperial Rome, these " toes of iron 
and of clay," in the great image, been upon the 
theatre of prophecy and of history. What comes 
next ? The kingdom of God, the mighty Stone — 
that " which the builders rejected," but which now 



For the Hope that is in Me, 61 

is ^^ the head of the corner/' that of which it is said : 
^ ^^ Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be 
broken ; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will 
Wrind him to powder." Luke xis: : 18. This is 
most clearly the next grand event in this prophetic 
course. And this kingdom is to be established by 
^^ our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living 
and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom." 
2 Tim. iv : 1-4. Now in view of all these facts, 
like the mariner who sees the last lights and land- 
marks which mark the conclusion of his voyage, lay- 
ing just before him, I conclude that we must be very 
near the end of this great series of events, and con- 
sequently that the coming of my Lord, and the con- 
summation of my hope " draweth nigh."' And besides, 
I remember that all the prophecies concerning these 
four kingdoms are matters in which all Bible stu- 
dents, expositors and Christian historians agree. 
The infidel can neither deny the facts, nor subvert the 
prophecy. Both stand invulnerable. There are 
some, it is true, who suppose that God's King- 
dom was established when Christ came, but this 
seems to be plainly wrong, because, 1. The kingdoms 
of the earth now exist, and are not yet ground to 
powder and scattered like the chaff. 2. Christ had 
no Kingdom while here, but said : " my Kingdom 
is NOT of this world." John xviii : 36. 3. The 
stone is to strike the image upon the feet and toes 
ef iron and clay, but these ^'feet and toes,'" rep- 



52 Eeasons 

resenting divided Rome^ were not in existence till 
hundreds of years after Christ was born, under the 
rule of UNDIVIDED Kome, persecuted in infancy by a 
Roman governor, tributary to Roman exactors, ar^ 
rested by Roman soldiers, led before a Roman tri- 
bunal, scourged by Roman hands, clad in Romsn 
purple, condemned by a Roman ruler, crucified up- 
on a Roman cross, pierced with a Roman spear, his 
sepulchre sealed with a Roman seal, guarded by 
Roman warriors, and his resurrection lied about 
afterwards by Roman guards, in obedience to priest- 
ly bribery and pharisaic falsehood. Now since this 
was the aspect of affairs, when Jesus was here on 
earth, I think it is quite clear that he did not then 
establish His everlasting kingdom ; and hence I 
look for Him to come again, and fulfill His glorious 
destiny, and reign upon the earth forever more. I 
look and hope for it soon^ and this ancient prophecy, 
now almost fulfilled, is a reason for my hope. Read 
the second chapter of Daniel, and compare it with 
any* good history of those times — such as that of 
Rollin, or those of the ancient writers themselves^ 
and see if these things are not so. 

II. The great prophet Daniel beheld in vision 
these same four great kingdoms, represented by four 
furious and ferocious beasts, rising from the stormy 
bosom of a tempestuous sea. They were an eagle- 
winged LION, a BEAR, a four-headed leopard, and a 
nondescript and terrible ten-horned beast. He 



F(yi^ the Hope that is in Me. 53 

afterwards saw amid these ten horns another differ- 
ent one arise, which subverted three that were be- 
fore it, blasphemed the Most High, and persecuted 
his saints, until at length he beheld the thrones of 
judgment placed in solemn state, ^^and the Ancient of 
days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and 
the hair of his head like the pure wool : his throne 
was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning 
fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from 
before him : thousand thousands ministered unto 
him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood be- 
fore him : the judgment was set, and the books 
were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of 
the great words which the horn spake : I beheld 
even till the beast was slain, and his body des- 
troyed, and given to the burning flame. As con- 
cerning the rest of the beasts, they had their domin- 
ion taken away ; yet their lives were prolonged for 
a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, 
behold, one like the Son of man came with the 
CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, and came to the Ancient of 
davs, and thev brouo^ht him near before, him. And 
there was given him dominion, and glory, and a 
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, 
should serve him : his dominion is an everlasting 
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his king- 
dom that which shall not be destroyed.'' Dan. 
vii : 9-14. 

The same events foreshown in the great image 



54 Eeasons 

are here again more fully and definitely represented. 
The beasts represent kingdoms ; mighty, beastly, and 
cruel. This is the interpretation given by the an- 
gel : ^^ The fourth beast shall be the fourth king- 
bom upon the earth/' 

An infidel might have mocked at such an unna- 
tural emblem as a winged lion, but during the re- 
cent excavations at Nineveh, which was the capital 
of the old Assyrian empire, from which Babylon 
afterwards sprung, there was discovered, chisseled 
from the solid rock, " a lion having eagles' wings'' 
I have seen an engraving of it. That sculptured 
form was as appropriate a symbol of Babylon as the 
^^ British lion'' is of Britain, or as the " eagle'' is of 
America. The lion and the eagle, the kings of 
beasts and of birds are here combined to represent 
the chief of kingdoms. The prophets used this very 
emblem to represent Babylon. '^ Israel is a scatter- 
ed sheep ; the lions have driven him away : first 
the king of Assyria hath devoured him ; and last 
this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath 
broken his bones." Jer. 1 : 17. Ezek. xvii : 1-^16. 

At length the prophet beheld another beast, ^' a 
second like a bear," representing the cruel, raven- 
ous and rapacious Medo-Persian empire. Then 
came the swift and Leopard-like Greeks^ and as this 
leopard had '^ four heads," so after the death of 
Alexander the kingdom was divided into four king- 
doms under the rule of his four great generals : Gas- 



For the Hope that is in Me, 55 

sander reigning over Macedon and Greece, Lysima- 
chus over Thrace and Bythynia, Ptolemy over Egypt, 
and Selucus over Syria. Following these came the 
mighty empire of the Romans which ^^ devoured and 
brake in pieces'' like the iron in the image, ^' and 
stamped the residue with its feet/' Some three or 
four hundred years after Christ this kingdom was 
divided^ and within its territory there came up ten 
other kingdoms, answering to the '^ ten horns." 
Machiavel. the Eoman Catholic historian, little 
thinking what he was doing, has given us the names 
of the ten kingdoms that arose out of the Eoman em- 
pire. 1. The Ostrogoths in Moesia, 377. 2. The Vis- 
goths in Pannonia, 378. 3. The Sueves and Alans 
in Gascoigne and Spain, 407. 4. Vandals in Africa, 
407. 5. The Franks in France, 407. 6. The Bur- 
gundians in Burgundy, 407. 7. The Heruli and 
Turingi in Italy, 476. 8. The Saxons and Angles 
in Britain, 476. 9. The Huns in Hungary, 356. 
10. The Lombards, first upon the Danube and after- 
wards in Italy, 483. The dates are those given by 
" That excellent chronologer, Bp. Lloyd." Vide 
Newton on the Prophecies, Dissertation xiv, pp. 
209, 210. 

Another power arose, the Papal government, tear- 
ing up three others to make way for itself, and then 
fulfilling its predicted course of blasphemy, hypo- 
crisy, impiety, persecution and blood, down very 
nearly to the present time. In the grand outlines 



56 Reasons 

of this prophetic view there seems to be no room foi 
mistake. The prophecy and the history correspond 
as the mirrored likeness corresponds to the human 
face, — they are accurately true. Their accomplish- 
ment of this prophecy fills up the history till thf 
present age. 

Again, the question recurs, ^' Where are we ?' 
Not under Babylonish rule — that is gone — not undei 
Persian tyranny, that has passed away — not undei 
Grecian government, for Grecia i? no longer an em- 
pire — not under mighty and imperial Eome, for tha^ 
is divided and broken into fragments. The tet 
kingdoms have arisen — the other little one has alsci 
come u-p and done its appointed work ; and what 
comes next ? The throne of judgment ! The de- 
struction of the beast by burning flame ! The ap- 
pearing of Christ in glory and majesty ! and the 
everlasting kingdom of God established on the earthi 
Three of these four great empires have passed away, 
the fourth is in its last, its divided stage, and the 
voices of providence and of prophecy alike unite ta 
proclaim '^ Repent, for the kingdom of God is ai 
HAND V All things verge onward to this glorious 
day vv^hen, says the prophet, '^ The kingdom and 
DOMINION, and the greatness of the kingdom under 
THE WHOLE HEAVEN, shall be givcu to the people of 
the SAINTS of the most High, whose kingdom is an 
EVERLASTING KINGDOM, and all dominions shall 
serve and obey him." Dan. vii : 27. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 57 

This prophetic outline then is another reason for 
my hope that my Lord will appear ere long. Since 
80 much of the prophecy has been accomplished^ I 
have hope that the accomplishment of the remain- 
der is not far distant ; that soon the judgment shall 
sit, the books be opened, the Son of man appear, 
and the saints of the most High shall receive their 
everlasting kingdom and their great reward. 

III. The angel of the Lord, having led the pro- 
phet Daniel through a brief but graphic narration 
of the events of note in the history of the ages past, 
beginning with those just then transpiring beneath 
his gaze, and going down to the latter days, inform- 
ed him that at '' the time of the endj' a certain 
mighty power or potentate should run through a 
course of conquest and victory, until at the conclu- 
sion '' He shall go forth with great fury to destroy, 
and utterly to make away many. And he shall 
plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas 
in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come 
to his end, and none shall help him. And at, that 
time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which 
standeth for the children of thy people : and there 
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since 
there was a nation even to that same time : and at 
that time thy people shall be delivered, every one 
that shall be found written in the book. And many 
of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
AMAKE, some to EVERLASTING LIFE, and soine to 



58 Reasons 

shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be 
wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; 
and they that turn many to righteousness as the 
STARS for EVER AND EVER/' Dan. xi : 44. 45 ; 
xii: 1-3. 

Now it is quite evident that the end of this series 
of events is in connection with the coming of the 
Lord Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead. 
To apply it to mere temporal deliverances is to make 
the prophets speak great swelling words, which have 
but little force or meaning. It also seems quite 
plain that this ^^ glorious holy mountain'' is Mount 
Zion, or Jerusalem, which is '^ between the seas/' — 
the dead sea being on the east and the Mediterraiiean 
on the west of it. Now I do not see that this pre- 
diction has ever yet received its accomplishment, 
but from the attention with which the great Euro- 
pean powers are viewing what is termed the '^East- 
ern question," from the rising importance of the 
Jewish people, and the peculiar interest that is 
awakened in that nation ; its representatives hold- 
ing the purse-strings of the world ; it seems to me 
exceedingly probable that before long we shall see a 
Euler taking possession of that land and planting 
there the ^^ tabernacles of his palace," and then sud- 
den and unexpectedly shall the terrors of Arma- 
geddon roll in upon the view. I cannot predict 
with positiveness, I am no prophet, but it seems to 
n^e exceedingly prohahle that these events may very 



For the Hope that is in 3fe. 59 

soon be realized. And if so, then I have another 
reason for my hope. 

IV. The same angel, after describing the resurrec- 
tion of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, and 
the glorification of the people of God, who shall 
^^ shine as the stars forever and ever,'' continued 
thus : " But thou, Daniel, shut up the words, and 
SEAL THE BOOK, evcu to the TIME OF THE END : many 

shall RUN TO AND FRO, and KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE 

INCREASED." Dan. xii : 4. Now it cannot be de- 
nied that there has been, during the last half cen- 
tury, an increase of knowledge entirely unparalleled 
in all the history of the world. 

If we regard this increase of knowledge as having 
respect to this very prophecy, and to the understand- 
ing of the word of God : If like Migh^lis, we say, 
'^Many shall give their sedulous attention to the 
understanding of these things," — or with A. Clarke, 
'' Many shall endeavor to search out the sense, and 
knowledge shall be increased by these means,'^ or 
with Dr. Coke, " Many shall run to and fro . . earn- 
estly searching into this sealed book, and knowledge 
shall be increased ; light shall be cast on the pro- 
phecies . . . they will be clear as if written with a 
sunbeam :" if with Dr. Gill we say, '^ Many shall 
be stirred up to inquire into these things . . . the 
knowledge of this book of prophecy will be increased, 
things will appear plainer, the nearer the accom- 
plishment of them,'^ — if this be the sense and scope 



60 Beasons 

of the passage, surely such knowledge has greatly 
increased. Said Sir Isaac Newton, '^ it is a part of 
this prophecy that it should not be understood be- 
fore the last age of the world ; and therefore H 
makes for the credit of the prophecy that it is not 
yet understood ; but if the last age, the age of open- 
ing these things, be now approaching, (as by the 
great success of late interpreters it seems to be,) we 
have more encouragement than ever to look into 
these things. But in the ~very end the prophecy 
shall be so far interpreted as to convince many,' ' for 
then,' says Daniel, ' many shall run to and fro, and 
knowledge shall be increased/ . . .Among the inter- 
preters of the last age, there is scarce one of note 
who hath not made some discovery worth knowing ; 
whence I seem to gather that God is about opening 
these mysteries." ^^ 

A generation later than this, in 1775, the sainted 
Fletcher of Madely, writing on this subject, said : 
"It is remarkable that more books have been writ- 
ten upon the prophecies these last hundred years, than 
were ever known before, and all — those, at least, 
which I have read — agree that these things will, in 
all probability, soon come upon the earth. I know 
many have been grossly mistaken as to the years ; 
but because they were rasTi^ shall we be stupid ? 
Because they said ^ to-day' shall we say never ? and 
cry ' peace, peace,' when we should look about us 

* Obserrations on the Prophecies. Voice of the Church, p. 235. 



Fo7' the Hope that is in Me, 61 

with eyes full of expectation ? Let us not jud'^e 
rashly, nor utter vain predictions in the name of the 
Lord ; but let us look about us with watchful eyes, 
]est the euemy take advantage of us . . . If we are 
mistaken in forming conjectures . . if these things 
happen not to us, but to our children, (as they most 
certainly will^ before the thjird generation is swept 
away,) is it not our business to prepare ourselves 
for them ?" &c.'- 

If more books had been written on the prophecies 
during that century than were ever known before, 
is it not true that more^ far more, have been writ- 
ten in the last half century than all that were writ- 
ten previously ? The volumes which were issued in 
Fletcher's time, cannot be compared with the mul- 
titudes of more recent issue. It would require a 
volume to catalogue the works on prophecy that 
have leaped from the press during the last genera- 
tion, from such writers as Gumming, Croly, Keith, 
Begg, Brooks, Birks, Bickersteth, McNeil, Elliott, 
Maitland, Wolff, and ^.others in England ; the Bo- 
nars, McCheyne, Oandlish, Chalmers, GilfiUan, 
and Cunningharae in Scotland ; Gaussen, Heng- 
stenburg, Olshausen, and others upon the continent, 
and in America, from Drs. Duffield, Eamsey, Lord, 
Tyng, Hopkins, — also Messrs. Winthrop, D. N. Lord, 
D. T. Taylor, and others far too numerous to 

Letter on the Prophecies. Works, Vol. 10. •' Voice of the Church," p, 
266. The " third generation " is passing away. 



62 Reasons 

mention.* Besides these there are hundreds and 
thousands who have studied and are preaching up- 
on the prophecies^ who have never written on the 
subject. And many of them are men second ta 
none of their compeers in the pulpit, or on the 
platform. Men of eloquence like Chalmers^ and 
Melville, and Gumming, and Spurgeon, and Tyng, 
and Burnham ; men of learning like Elliott, and Lord^ 
and Wolife ; men of the deepest piety like McOheyne^ 
and Hewettson, and J. K. Lord ; men of the highest- 
and the lowest grade, from bishops and princes, 
down to farmers and artisans^— men in all countries 
where the Bible is studied — men whose tongues and 
pens are both " like a pen of a ready writer,'^ have in- 
dependently, and often unknown to each other, united 
in lavishing their learning and their eloquence up- 
on the exposition of those unfolding oracles, that are 
adapted to human necessities in these last times of 
peril and of sin. 

But perhaps by some, this prediction may be re- 
garded as having a more extended application, and 
so embracing all scriptual knowledge. And if it be 
in this respect that knowledge was to be increased^ 
how accurately and gloriously has the prediction 
been accomplished. 

If we go back to the days of Christ, we find the 
Old Testament existing only in the original Hebrew 

*See The Voice of the Church on the Reign of Christ, for an extended ]M 
of pamee of writers and preachers on these subjeets, occupying several page& 



For the Hoj)e that is in Me. 63 

and in the Greek translation called the Septuagint, 
made by order of Ptolemy Philadelphus^ B.C. about 
288. About one hundred years from the birth of 
Christ, the New Testament writings were completed, 
the last being added by the Apostle John. The 
Christian church of the first age had only the Bible 
in Hebrew and in Greek. The gift of tongues aid- 
ed in its dissemination among different nations, but 
the necessity of versions was speedily felt. The 
work was begun perhaps under the eye. and in the 
days of the Apostles, by the translation of the New 
Testament into the (Peshito) Syriac language. In 
the first ten centuries of the Christian era the Bible 
was translated into as many different tongues : — 
Chaldee, Greek, Syriac, Latin, Egyptian, Ethiopic, 
Armenian, Gothic, Sclavonic, Arabic, and, perhaps, 
Anglo-Saxon ; and some thousands of copies pro- 
bably were transcribed by hand. This with a French 
version, made in the twelfth century, an English one 
in the fourteenth, and in i\\e ffteenth an Italian ver- 
sion, and one in Spanish ; was all that was done for 
the Bible during about fifteen hundred years from 
the time of Christ. Ten versions in ten hundred 
years, and then four versions during five hundred 
years of darkness succeeding. Books were then 
written with the pen, and in England in 1429, 
Nicholas Belward was arraigned for purchasing a 
New Testament ior four marks and four pence, and 
teaching William Wright and Margery his wife, the 



bi Reasons 

• 

study of the same. This price would be equal to 
about £45. 6s. 8d, or about two hundred and twenty- 
five dollars for a New Testament. How precious 
must the word of God have been then.* 

At length the art of printing was discovered. The 
first book ever printed was the Book of Books, the 
Book of God, by Faust and Guttenberg, at Metz, 
between the years 1450 and 1455. It was the first 
fruits of a glorious harvest. Other impressions fol- 
lowed, — -probably as many as one hundred and fifty 
small editions before the time of Luther. In 1472 
the printers, in a petition, complaining of their pov- 
erty to Sixtus IV., stated that an edition of a theo- 
logical work (including the Bible) consisted of five 
hundred and fifty copies. There must have been then, 
at a moderate calculation, some sixty thousand copies 
of the scriptures circulated, partly in Latin and 
partly in modern languages, before the reformation. 

These volumes, scattered through the lands, had 
in them the germs of a new life for man. They 
quickened the dormant souls of those who sat in 
darkness. Luther arose. In the Castle of Wart- 
burg he translated his German Testament. ^^Let 
this one book/^ said he, '' be on all tongues, in all 
hards, under all eyes, in all pens, and in all hearts.^' 
'^ Hearken, man ! my brother ! — God, the creator 
of heaven and earth, speaks here to thee.^' He fin- 
ished the New Testament and was set at liberty 

*0ur English Bible, p. 45 



For the Hope timl is in Me. 65 

Melaiicthon assisted to revise it. Three presses were 
employed to print it, and ten thousand sheets were 
Btruck off in a day. At last, on the 21st of Sept., 
1522j three thousand Testaments were ready and were 
given to the world. Other editions succeeded this, one 
in the December following, and sixty-eight within 
ten years. When the New Testament was printed 
thay commenced to translate the old, and in 1530 
the whole Bible issued from the press. 

Other versions followed. In 1666 the French 
Jesuits threw De Sacy into prison. For two years 
and a half, within the gloomy walls of the old Bas- 
tile, he labored in translating the Bible. It was 
finished one night, and the next day he was set free. 
God maketh the wrath of man to praise him. This 
version is regarded by very many ^'as the most per- 
fect version in the French or in any other tongue.'^-'*" 
Like Banyan's Pilgrim, it was prison work. From 
1550 to 1600 Le Long reckons no fewer than 157 
editions of Bibles or Testaments printed in French. 

Wicliffe's first version of the Bible in English, in 
1380, though not printed, was yet circulated in 
manuscript. The earliest Scripture printed in Eng- 
lish was the seven Penitential Psalms, by Bishop 
Fisher, 1505. About this time arose William Tyn- 
dale, a man of learning, piety, and high and holy 
purpose. When once a priest said to him, '' We 
are better without God's laws than the pope's/' he 

*Bible in Many Tongues, p. 118. 



66 Reasons 

replied, ^'I defy the pope and all his laws. . , .If 
God spare my life, ere many years, I will cause the 
boy who driveth the plow to know more of the 
Scriptures than you do."^^ Disturbed by priests in 
Grloucestershire^ he sought another place where he 
might perform his work. He thought of the Bishop 
of London, praised exceedingly by Erasmus, "whose 
tongue maketh of little gnats great elephants," but 
there was no place for Tyndale in that quarter, and 
he says he " undei stood at last, not only that there 
was no room in my Lord of London's palace, to trans- 
late the New Testament, but also that there was no 
place to do it in all England. Eoom enough there 
was in my Lord's house for belly-cheer, but none to 
translate the New Testament.'' Preserved for a 
while from actual want by the kindness of Hum- 
phrey Monmouth, he at length sailed to Hamburgh 
in 1524. The following year he was at Cologne, 
passing through the press the first New Testaments 
ever printed in the English tongue. Betrayed there^ 
he snatched some copies of his incomplete Testa- 
ments from the press, and started with all speed in 
a passing boat for Worms, where he in safety finish- 
ed his work, and issued the first English Testament 
ever published, about 1526. Multitudes of these 
w^ere sent to England. Some were bought and 
burned, others filled their places — in 1530 Tyndale 
published the pentateuch ; in 1534 a version of 

^British Quarterly Review, vol. iii, p. 447. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 67 

Jonah ; but he never finished the Old Testament. 
Hated by the enemies of God, and an exile from his 
own land, betrayed by an infamous Judas named 
Philips, he was taken to Vilvord Castle near Brus- 
sels : — kept there in prison a year or two, he busied 
himself with preparing a version of the New Testa^ 
ment in provincial orthography, that plow-boya 
could understand ; and at last, in Sept., 1536, he was 
led forth to execution, strangled, and thrown into the 
flames, his last words being, '^ Lord, open the king 
of England's eyes/' That prayer was answered, and 
in less than one year '^ Mathew's Bible," containing 
Tvndale's New Testament and Pentateuch, which 
had been by that king prohibited, were issued open- 
ly in England, as the version which all might read 
and possess, superseding the subsequent one of Bp. 
Coverdale, and being as the title declared, ^^ set 
forth by the king's most gracious license." '' And 
thus Henry VIII unwittingly afforded his public 
sanction to the man whom he had persecuted through 
life and permitted to die a felon's death on a foreign 
shore !" And though afterward, under this same 
king, parliament again prohibited the Bible, yet 
during the twenty years of his reign as many as fifty 
editions were issued, and during the brief seven years 
of the reign of his successor, Edward VI, there were 
published as many more."^ '^ So mightily grew the 
word of God and prevailed/' 

*Thft Bible in Mbt^^ tongues, p. 91. Oar English Bible, p. 119. 



68 Reasons 

In the seventeenth century 940 editions of the 
Bible, in the languages of modern Europe, are enu- 
merated, (not one of which were printed at Kome,) 
— in the same century 2050 editions of the Bible, 
or parts of the Bible, were issued in the oriental and 
Latin tongues, (and all but twenty-four of them be- 
yond the reach of the Papal power.) In the 250 years 
after the Reformation, the Scriptures were translated 
in Europe into twenty-two languages more ; and some 
four or five millions of copies in all languages were 
printed during the same period. 

With this brief survey we come to the close of the 
eighteenth century. Up to that time from four to 
six million copies of the Holy Scriptures, in about 
thirty different languages, comprise all that had ever 
been issued since the world hegan. In 1779, there 
was not a Bible Society in the world^ and after all 
that had been done, there were not, at that time, for 
all the teeming myriads of mankind, more than four 
millions of Bibles in circulation in the world. ^ 

A new era dawns. In 1780, the Naval and Mili- 
tary Bible Society, the first that was founded, was 
organized in England and began its limited work. 
In 1802, Eev. Thos. Charles of Bala in Wales, meet- 
ing a little girl who attended upon his ministry, en- 
quired of her if she could repeat last Sunday's text. 
She was silent, and when pressed to answer him she 
burst into tears and said, " The weather, sir, has 
been so bad that I could not get to read the Bible." 



For the Hopt that is in Me, 69 

She had been accustomed to travel seven miles 
to read the Bible and look out the text. That 
week the rain had prevented her from doing so. Mr. 
Charles, affected by the pressing need, soon came to 
London to beg Bibles for the Welsh. The destitu- 
tion was great. The Keligious Tract Society had 
recently declined to grant 20,000 Bibles, which had 
been solicited for Wales. Mr. Charles presented the 
cause to them again, when the Secretary, the Eev. 
J. Hughes, suggested, ^' Surely a Society might be 
formed for the purpose, and if for Wales, why not 
for the world V They met again May 12th, 1803, 
and among other incidents, Eev. Mr. Knight related 
how a man had " traveled sixty miles over the snow, 
in Nova Scotia, to obtain a Bible.'' 

On the 7th of May, 1804, some three hundred 
gentlemen of all denominations met at the London 
Tavern, and then and there, they organized that 
noble institution, ^^ The British and Foreign Bible 
Society/' On the 3d of Sept., 1804, it was voted 
that a number of stereotype Bibles and Testaments 
should be ordered, and among them, 20,000 Welsh 
Bibles and 5.000 Welsh Testaments were included. 
In Sept., 1805, the first stereotype edition of the 
New Testament ever printed, and the first part of 
the Bible ever published by the British and Foreign 
Bible Society, was issued from the University press 
at Cambridge. Other editions followed in rapid 
succession In July, 1806, the Welsh Bibles and 



70 Reasons 

Testaments were finished and started for Wales. 
'' When the arrival of the cart was announced, which 
carried the first sacred load, the Welsh peasants 
went out in crowds to meet it ; welcomed it as the 
Israelites did the ark of old ; drew it into the town ; 
and eagerly bore off* every copy, as rapidly as they 
could be dispersed/'*^ 

A new era had dawned on the world.— -Within 
four years from its establishment this society either 
published, or was engaged in publishing, not fewer 
ihan forty -three editions of the sacred Scriptures, in 
seventeen different languages, forming a grand total 

of ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SIX THOUSAND COPIES. 

Since that time the work has progressed beyond all 
precedent. The Bible has spread, most gloriously, 
to many lands. Carey, sneered at by the proud 
professors. of his day as ^Hhe consecrated cobbler/' 
sailed for Calcutta, as a missionary to India, June 
13th, 1793. He arrived Nov. 11th, and began his 
work, in which he was afterwards assisted by Dr. 
Marshman, and, in 1813, he writes : '^ We are at 
this time eno;ao;ed in translatin:^ the Bible into 
twenty- one languages^ including the Bengalee which 
is finished. '^ In July, 1832, two years before Carey's 
death, they were enabled to write that, '^ The entire 
Scriptures, of the Old and New Testaments, had at 
this time been printed and circulated in six oriental 

♦Christian Observer for July, 1810. History Brit, and For. Bib. Sew. 
vol. L, p. 30. 



For the Hope that is in Me, 71 

languages, besides the Chinese ; the New Testament 
had been printed in twenty-three languages more ; 
the Pentateuch and other parts of the Old Testa- 
ment in several of these languages ; and portions of 
the Scriptures had been printed in ten others, or in 
all FORTY LANGUAGES.'^ Such was the mighty pro- 
gress of God's Word, during the laborious life of 
one individual ; and the lapse of subsequent years 
gives no token that this progress is retarded. 

At the end of fifty years, in March, 1854, there 
had been issued by the British and Foreign Bible 
Society alone, the vast number of twenty-seven 

MILLIONS, NINE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT THOU- 
SAND, SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE COpieS, (27, 

938, 631) of the Bible or parts thereof, to bless and 
save mankind. f These Bibles were only Si portion 
of what had been published, for besides the vast 
number which private enterprise had spread abroad 
like healing leaves, numerous other societies had 
l)een fornied, so that at that date not less them forty 
millions of copies of the whole, or parts of the sacred 
oracles, had been issued by Bible societies alone, and 
since then millions more have been issued to supply 
the increasing demand. ^'From the first of April, 
1858, to the 31st of March, 1859, the number of 
copies of Scripture issued by the British and Foreign 
Bible Societv, amount to the marvellous total of 

ONE MILLION, SIX HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE THOU- 

* Bible Triumphs, by Rev. Thomas Timpson ; p. 404 

t Brov>Tie's History of the Brit, and For. Bib. Soc. Vol. ii: p. 544* 



72 Reasons 

SAND, NINE HUNDRED AND ETGHTY-FIVE COPIES." 

At that time, the same society, in addition to its 
immense domestic manufacture, had issued orders 
for the printing, in twelve different countries, of 
more than twelve hundred and seventy thou- 
SAND' copies of sacred Scripture. On the 1st of 
April, 1859, it is stated that the total issues of the 
society, excluding the past circulation of the ver- 
nacular Scriptures printed in India by the various 
auxiliaries y have now reached '• Thirty-five mil- 
lions, SIX hundred and nine thousand, nine 
hundred and thirty-one copies/' ''•^' In 1854, 
there had been issued by this society, directly^ the 
Bible, or parts thereof, in one hundred and one 
languages and dialects, and indirectly in fifty-one 
more, making in all one hundred and fifty-two 
LANGUAGES Or DIALECTS in which Scripture had been 
issued to that did^ie^ fourteen of which versions were, 
however, issued by other societies. The number of 
different versions was one hundred and seventy-nine^ 
and of these one hundred and twenty-five are transla- 
tions 7iever before printed. This was in 1854. From 
that time to 1859. a number of new versions have 
been added to the list. The British and Foreign 
Bible Society has, during these five years, circulated 
seven million^ six hundred and seventy-one thou- 
sand, three hundred copies of Scripture : nearly o^e- 
third sls many as it had in all the preceding fifty 

* Animal Report of Brit, and For. Bib. Soc, p. 319. 



For the Hope iJiai is in Me. 73 

yejirs. Bible societies in other lands have labored 
with corresponding diligence in the work, and it is 
probable that not less than about sixty millions of 
copies of parts, or the whole of the Sacred Word, in 
about two hundred different translations^ and in 
some one hundred and seventy-five or tivo hundred 
different languages or dialects, have been given 
to the inhabitants of the earth since the year 1804. 
And, at that time, there were not more than about 
thirty-five or forty versions of the Scriptures, ancient 
and modern, in different languages, in being on the 
earth, and several of these were in ancient tongues 
which no nation used or understood. Thus had 
darkness prevailed for the ages past^ and now, lo ! 
light arises, and manifold more translations are 
made, and tenfold more Bibles are issued in the last 
fifty years, than in the whole history of the world 
before !''' 

Well might Dr. Cotton Mather, as he saw, in 
1663, a few hundred copies of the whole Scriptures 

*In 1851, at the GrREAT Industrial Exhibition in London, a nicho 
was found for the Volume of Inspiration, not in a solita.ry form, but pre- 
sented in 170 different versions, containing, (or representing) 130 languages ; 
go that, of the multitudes, gathered from the four quarters of the earth, that 
tro 1 the floor of that spacious and beautiful edifice, it is probable there was 
gi arcely one who might not have read or seen, 'in his own tongue,' a por- 
tii/n. at least, of the divinely inspired record. It may be here remarked, that 
the 170 versions which met the eye of the numerous visitors in the Crystal 
palace, were selected from a still greater number, in the publication of 
which the society had more or less assisted."— Hi^^. .5ri^ and For. Bib. 
Soc. Vol. I. p. 245. 



74 Eeasons ^ 

in Elliot's version, issued from the press in the In- 
dian tongue, exclaim : ^^ Behold ye Americans ! 
Behold the greatest honor that ever you were par- 
takers of ! The Bible was printed here at our Cam- 
bridge ; and it is the only Bible that was ever print- 
ed in all America from the very foundation of the 
world/' But in America things have changed since 
then. On the 12th of December, 1808, the Phila- 
delphia Bible Society was formed. Six other local 
societies were formed in 1810^ and these were follow- 
ed by the American Bible Society, which was or- 
ganized in New York, May 8th, 1817, and which in 
the space of forty years, to 1857, had issued a grand 

total of TWELVE MILLIONS, EIGHT HUNDRED AND 
FOUR THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN COpicS of Sacred 

Scripture (12,804,014). Besides this two hundred 

AND THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND AND THIRTY-NINE 

copies of Scripture had been circulated by the Phila- 
delphia Bible Society prior to the year 1839, when 
its name was changed to the Pennsylvania Bible 
Society, and it became an auxiliary to the American 
Society. The American and Foreign Bible Society, 
founded in 1838. in New York, has also circulated 
about a million copies of Scripture, and the Ameri- 
can Bible Union, organized in 1850, has in some 
measure assisted in the great work. And if Mather 
grew so joyful over a single edition of the Bible, 
published in this country in a barbarous tongue, how 
would his pious rapture rise could he behold the 



For fhe Hope that is in 3fe. 7ft 

mighty movement now going on in the earth. 
Surelx he would exclaim^ — ^^ What hath God 
wrought V 

And all this has been done in a single generation. 
Men that saw its beginning see it as it is to-day. 
It is limited to about this very century. It is an 
increase of knowledge such as all the ages cannot 
parallel. About ten times as many Bibles have 
been issued and circulated during the last fifty years 
as has ever been issued before since the beo-innino^ of 
the world. 

Look at a few examples. In 1841 there were in 
Finland 120,000 families without a Bible. The 
B. & F. Bib. Soc. voted to supply them all, and the 
last edition of 2.500 required to do it, was, I think, 
preparing in 1857, and is no doubt long since, to a 
great extent, distributed. 

In 1806 not one in a thousand of the people of 
Kussia could read, and it was generally known a 
hundred versts off (70 miles,) where the treasure of 
a Bible was to be found. In ten years the Russian 
Bible Societv issued eight hundred and sixty- 

ONE THOUSAND COpieS. 

In the days of the '^ First Oonsur' an Englishman 
visiting Paris, was anxious when there to obtain 
a French Bible. He applied to the various book- 
sellers of Paris in vain ; a copy was not to be ob- 
tained. In the year 1858-9 the British and Foreign 
Bible Society alone^ issued from their depository in 



76 Reasons 

Paris, NINETY THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED AND 

SIXTY copies, which is a less number than the num- 
ber issued in some of the preceding years ; and the 
grand total of issues from the depository since its 
establishment in 1820, is three million, six hun- 
dred AND nine thousand, TWO HUNDRED AND 

FIFTY-TWO copies. So much for Paris, where a few 
years ago the Bible was sought for in vain, and 
where at no remote period infidelity was rampant, 
and the Bible was an abomination. 

Such are the incidents which illustrate the in- 
crease of knowledge of Grod and his work among the 
nations of the earth. And as the word of God thus 
speeds its way throughout the world, can we fail to 
be reminded of the prediction, "many shall run 
TO and FRO, and knowledge shall be increased ?" 
Is not this vast increase of knowledge a fulfillment 
of that declaration ? And if so, are we not in " the 
time of the end ?'' 

If we are disposed to regard this increase of know- 
ledge as having respect to all kinds of religious 
knowledge, we shall not fail to observe a fulfillment 
of the prophecy equally distinct and marked. At 
the commencement of this century, I believe there 
was not a religious newspaper in the world ; — the 
first one, " The Herald of Gospel Liberty,^' having 
been commenced by Elias Smith, a Christian minis- 
ter at Portsmouth, N. H., about the year 1801 ; but 
now what millions of such sheets go forth each week 
to enlighten and bless mankind. 



For the Hope that is in Me, Tl 

Sunday Schools had their begimiing in England, 
on a small scale, about 1784 But the '^ Sunday 
School Union'' was not organized in London till 
1803 ; nor in America till 1824 ; but since these 
dates what millions on millions of books have been 
issued, and what countless hosts of children have 
been trained up for glory in the Sunday School. 

On May 9th, 1779, the Eeligious Tract Society 
was organized in London, and in 1849, at its fiftieth 
anniversary, it reported a total issue of five hun- 
dred MILLIONS OF PUBLICATIONS in ONE HUNDRED 

AND TEN different languages, through its aid and 
instrumentality ; — and receipts about $5,118:851- 
The American Tract Society was established in 
1814, and within thirty-one years from that time it 
reported the issue of one hundred and eighty-five 
millions of publications, in various tongues, and of 
various sizes and chamcters. Various other similar 
societies have scattered books and tracts like autumn 
leaves, far and wide on every hand. These have 
given light to many, and have been messengers of 
balvation to the perishing and the lost. 

Thus, during the last half century, Bibles, books, 
tracts, and religious papers have been spread to 
earth's remotest realms ; that men sitting in dark- 
ness might see the light of life, and learn the way of 
God. And this is most certainly both a means of 
increasing knowledge and a token that knowledge 
is increased ; and that in such a marked and won- 



78 Reasons 

drous ratio that we can hardly fail to discern by it 

that we are in ^^ the time of the end/^ 

To note the material progress of the age, and its 
increase in secular knowledge during the present 
generation, would far exceed the limits of the pre- 
sent writing. Should it please God to permit, 1 
may hereafter present in a separate tract, some of 
the marvels of this '^ Age of progress/' But for the 
present I must leave this to the meditation of the 
thoughtful reader. 

The mental activities of this present age are fai 
beyond all previous example. More books are print- 
ed than ever before. In the United States alone, 
more than one million newspapers, on an average, 
are issued every day. In all literature, criticism, 
history and science, the progress of the age is most 
maiTelous. Geology has grown from nothing to a 
science ; geography has pushed its explorations be- 
yond all previous limits, even from the Polar Sea to 
the centre of Africa. Astronomy has traversed new 
fields of ether, and its space-penetrating telescopes 
have seemed to ransack thu universal realm of the 
mighty Creator. Medicine, mechanics, agriculture, 
education, yea everything in which men are concern- 
ed, has felt the mighty impulse that speeds onward 
this progressive age. It is the age of machinery, oi 
patents, of inventions, of research, of railroads, and 
steamboats, and telegraphs ; an age that heaps 
marvel on marvel, and wonder on wonder ; an age 



For the Hope that is in Me. 79 

v?hich perpetually outdoes itself, and ever hastens 
on in the accelerating ratio of its headlong speed. 
And all these things are but the increase of knowl- 
edge, and do they not indicate that we are in the 
^' time of the end'' ? These, all combined, warrant 
me in cherishing the hope that the prophetic word, 
now unsealing, w^ill ere long be accomplished, and 
hence they are among the reasons I have for antici- 
pating the speedy realization of my blessed hope. 

V. Our Saviour, when his disciples enquired of 
him what should be the sign of his coming and of 
the consTimmation of the age, in the course of his 
answer said, '^ And this gospel of the kingdom shall 
be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all 
nations, and then shall the end come.^' Matt, xxiv : 
14. It will be seen that this passage does not teach 
th^ conversion of the world. It does not say when 
the gospel is thus preached, then shall the millen- 
nium come ; but '' then shall the end come.^' With 
Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, we may say 
of this passage, ^' He said not when it hath been 
believed by all men ; but when it hath been preach- 
ed, to all. For this cause, he also said ' for a toil- 
ness' to the nations, to show that he doth not wait 
for all men to believe^ and then for him to come : 
since the phrase 'for a witness' hath this meaning, 
for accusation, for reproof, for condemnation of them 
that have not believed.'' ^ 

* Homilies, part 1, p. 141, Oxford Translation. Voice of the Church, p. 93 



80 Beasons 

There was never a time from the beginning of the 
gospel, when there was such a marked accomplish- 
ment of this work as at the present hour. When 
the church was awaked by the reformation from the 
sleep of ages, they found the world lost in idolatry 
and ignorance. The only missions were the missions 
of Kome — the Jesuits and others whose presence 
was too often a curse to those to whom they came. 
In 1701, on the 16th of June, was incorporated in 
England, by King William III, a ^^ Society for the 
propagation of the Gospel in Foreign parts.'' This, 
however, was mostly confined in its operations to 
the British possessions. In 1705, at the suggestion 
of one of his chaplains, Frederick IV, king of Den- 
mark, established '' The society for sending mission- 
aries to India,'' which despatched as its first mis- 
sionaries, Bartholomew Zeigenbalg and Henry 
Plutscho. In later years its fame was widely spread 
by the labors of that man of God, Christian Fred- 
erick Schwartz. In 1732 ^^ The Moravian Missiona- 
ry Society" was formed, and since that time its work 
has extended to the West Indies, Greenland, North 
and South America, South Africa, and the East 
Indies, until it has been stated that this body of 
Christians numbered more than half its members as 
converted from heathenism. But the work of these 
societies was much circumscribed until about the 
present century. 

In 1792, " The Baptist Missionary Society'' was 



For the Hope that is in Me. 81 

formed in England. William Carey, its first mover, 
offered himself as its first raissionaiy, and on June 
13th, 1793, he, with Mr. Thomas, tore themselves 
away from their brethren at home and started forth 
to preach the gospel of God in far off India. In 
1795 '' The London Missionary Society'' was form- 
ed, which was followed by the '^ Scottish Missionary 
Society'' in 1796. '' The Church Missionary Socie- 
ty" was formed in 1800, and after these, in quick 
succession, there followed Tract, Bible, Missionary 
and Sunday School Societies, unnumbered and al- 
most innumerable. At six o'clock, on the morning 
of August 10th, 1796, the Mission Ship '' Duff," 
Captain James Wilson, sailed from England for the 
Pacific Ocean. On board, were Messrs. Cover, Eyre, 
Jefferson, and Lewis, with some twenty-five others 
— the first company ever sent forth by the London 
Missionary Society. As the missionary flag with 
its beauteous emblems, three doves bearing olive- 
branches in their beaks, was unfurled, the anchor 
hove up, and the vessel turned her bow to the bil- 
low, there burst from an hundred voices, the hymn, 

" Jesus, at thy command I launcli into the deep,'' 

The three years' voyage was made, the mission loca- 
ted, and the seed sown for an immortal harvest. 
The isles of the sea beheld the dawning of the day- 
spring from on high, and the good ship returned. 
The story of the voyage was issued to stir the hearts 
of nations to the work of Grod, and the mission ship 
was reserved for other services in the cause of God. 



82 Reasons 

In 1806, Capt. Benj. Wickes received from the 
"Baptist Missionary Society," of England, 1,000 
guineas for the Baptist Missionaries at Serampore. 
Arriving in Philadelphia, he deposited the money 
with Kobt. Ealston, Esq., for safe keeping, until he 
sailed for India. He also published in the news- 
papers the fact, requesting all who were " disposed 
to aid in the propagation of the Gospel among the 
heathen,'' to make additions to the sum. $5,000 
was immediately raised in Philadelphia, and other 
sums were received from Boston."^ This was pro- 
bably the first foreign missionary contribution ever 
made in America, except perhaps by the Moravians. 
In 1810, " the American Board of Commissioners 
for Foreign Missions" was established, at the in- 
stance of Adoniram Judson and others. He and 
Mr. Eice were among the first missionaries sent out 
by the board. Eeading their Bibles on their voyage 
to India^ they became convinced that the immersion 
of believers was the only Christian baptism. Cut off 
thus from their associations, they returned to this 
country and laid the subject before the Baptist 
churches, which course resulted in the formation of 
the " Missionary Union'' in 1814. Many other socie- 
ties have since been organized. 

The time would fail to tell the wonders which 
have been wrought by the preaching of Christ, the 
issue of Bibles, and all the means that have been 

* Dr. Belcher's life of Carey. Vide " The Baptist Denomination", p. 31G- 



For the Hope that is in Me. 83 

used to proclaim the Gospel to mankind. The work, 
begun in faith and hope, still progresses because it 
is the work of God. But yet there have been 
mighty obstacles to impede its course. Large 
sections of the earth have seemed to be closed 
against it. And until very recently a vast portion 
of the globe remained shut out from Gospel light. 
There was China, with its three hundred and sixty 
millions of people, sunk in the abyss of superstition 
and pollution, with their gates closed against the 
light of God. But within a few years a great change 
has come. In 1814, probably the first complete 
Chinese Testaments were distributed among the 
Chinese. The Emperor Kea-king, who decreed 
Christianity illegal, died in 1820. Morrison, Med- 
hurst, Gutzlaff, Marshman and others, have pushed 
forward the work. In 1854, a successful effort was 
made in England to raise a fund for printing a mil- 
lion COPIES of the Chinese New Testament, for 
distribution in China. Wars and commotions have 
occurred, native missionaries have penetrated the 
very heart of China, and distributed thousands of 
copies of the New Testament, — the insurrection 
came up — its leader had learned something of the 
Gospel of God ; changes have transpired, — prospects 
for the diffusion of the Gospel in China are increas- 
ingly encouraging — ^^ the vision brightens/' and 
says the fifty-fifth report of the British and Foreign 
Bible Society, ^^Long has the church of Christ 



84 Reasons 

waited and prayed for the opening of this stupendous 
country, in its length and breadth for the introduc- 
tion of the Gospel. That eventful period seems 
now to have arrived ; and in virtue of a treaty con- 
cluded by Lord Elgin, between Britain and China, 
Protestant missionaries will be allowed to visit the 
interior of the country unmolested, for the purpose 
of instructing the natives in the tenets of Christian- 
ity ; and the Government, while guaranteeing to 
them all reasonable freedom of action, at the ^ame 
time pledges itself to abstain from all interference 
with such of the people, as may be disposed to re- 
nounce their idolatry in favor of the religion of the 
Bible. . . China, with all her barriers withdrawn, is 
accessible to the Gospel. ' This is the Lord's doing, 
and it is marvellous in our eyes.' "-^ Above the 
noisy tumults of commercial enterprise and national 
ambition, the voice of Christ seems saying, ''This 
Gospel shall be preached in all the world. . . And 
then shall the end come." 

We turn to Turkey, where Mohammedanism has 
reigned fbr ages over the vast region extending from 
the Pruth to the Tigris, and bordering upon the 
Adriatic, the Mediterranean, the Euxine, the Red 
Sea, and the Persian Gulf ; including a population 
of about thirty-five millions of people. Here the 
Bible and the Gospel have been almost excluded, 
and severe persecutions awaited any who dared to 

* Report for 1.859, p. 225 



For tlie Hope that is in Me. 85 

exchange the impostures of the false prophet for the 
truth as it is in Christ. But the eastern question 
has come up ; the war with Kussia opened a field 
for other European powers to enter in, and when the 
treaty was concluded free toleration of Christianity 
was one of the results. Bibles are now freely sold 
under the eyes of the Grand Turk himself. In Da- 
mascus a man was imprisoned for becoming a Chris- 
tian, but the decision of the Sublime Porte was 
that he should be released, and remain unmolested, 
but as Damascus was a sacred city, he must remove 
to another place of residence. In Sivas, the Def- 
tardor, or second man to the Pasha, came one day 
to the book-store with a train of attendants, and 
publicly purchased a Turkish New Testament. 
The gospel can now be openly preached to the Turks 
and they can freely embrace and profess it. 

In South America, long cursed and darkened by 
Papal influence, the Gospel is penetrating the dense 
shadows that have for generations overspread that 
continent. In 1858 probably not fewer than 20,000 
copies of Scripture were circulated by Mr. A. J. Duf- 
field, the agent of the British Society, through 
Peru and New Granada, notwithstanding, or rather 
with the aid of the excommunication and opposi- 
tion of bigoted priests. In a little more than two 
years the Society's agent at Rio Janerio, Mr. R. 
Corfield, has distributed more than twelve thousand 
copies in that vicinity. 



86 Beasons 

In the Pacific Isles, the Bible and the Gospel 
have transformed cannibals into Christians, and sav- 
ages into men. ^^In 1823/' says Mr. Williams, 
speaking of the Island of Earatonga, " I found the 
people all heathens ; in 1834 they were all profess- 
ing Christians. At the former period I found thera 
with idols : these in 1834 were all destroyed. I 
found them without a written language, and left 
them reading in their own tongues the wonderful 
works of G-od.'" '^ ^^ It is a fact that many of the 
Polynesian Islands have long since repaid to the 
Treasury of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
all that the Bibles sent to that part of the world 
ever cost, f 

In Eussia, where during 234 years since Bibles 
were first issued, only twenty-two editions of scarce- 
ly more than 60,000 copies had been printed, the 
Bible Society formed Jan. 14th, 1813, was by the 
begiDning of 1816, able to report eight editions of 
the Scriptures in as many languages, as finished, and 
fourteen more in press, amounting in all to 79,000 
copies, and the total issues of the B. and F. Bible 
Society in Eussian have amounted to 1,400,000 
copies. 

To Persia, where the Gospel was doubtless car- 
ried by those '' Elamites'' who heard it on the day 
of Pentecost, but where the knowledge of it had 
long since become extinct ; Jerome Xavier, a relative 

* Bible in Every Land, p. 315. f Bible in Many Tongues, p. 177. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 87 

of Francis, furnished a medley of truth and fables, 
in 1602, as a response to the request made by Akbar, 
Emperor of the Moguls, for a copy of the Holy 
Scriptures. The Emperor laughed at the fables the 
book contained, and the word of Grod continued un- 
known to them. But early in the present century, 
Henry Martyn undertook to translate the Bible into 
Persic. His work, completed in 1808, was found to 
be so full of Arabic and foreign terms that the com- 
mon people could not understand it. Martyn then 
resolved to visit Persia, and there correct and per- 
fect it. In June 1811, he reached Shiraz, the seat 
of Persian literature. Eemaining there about a 
year he completed his work, and with shattered 
health departed for England. But he never saw his 
native land again, for he died the same year, on 
or about October 16th, at Tocat, a commercial city 
in Asiatic Turkey. 

A Mohammedan thus relates some of the circum- 
stances of his visit : ^^ In the year 1223 of the He- 
gira, there came to this city an Englishman, who 
taught the religion of Christ with a boldness hither- 
to unparalelled in Persia, in the midst of much scorn 
and ill treatment from our moUahs as well as the 
rabble. He was a beardless youth, and evidently 
enfeebled by disease. I was then a decided enemy 
to infidels, and visited the teacher of the despised 
sect with the declared object of treating him with 
scorn, and exposing his doctrines to contempt. These 



88 lieasons 

evil feelings gradually subsided before the iiifluenco 
of his gentleness, and just before he quitted Shiraz, 
I paid him a parting visit. Our conversation — the 
recollection of it will never fade from the tablets of 
my memory — -sealed my conversion. He gave me a 
book ; it has been my constant companion ; the 
study of it has formed my most delightful occupa- 
tion."" Upon this the narrator of this incident 
brought out a copy of the New Testament in Per- 
nian ; on one of the blank leaves was- written, 
'' There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repent- 
eth. — Henry Martyn.''^^ Five thousand copies of 
this Testament were printed in 1819 by the Eussian 
Bible Society for the provinces in West Persia, and 
there have been printed for the B. and F. Bible Socie- 
ty, 16,097 portions of the Old Testament, and 14,850 
copies of the New Testament in the Persian tongue. 
India has long been shrouded in darkness. British 
India, with its (180,000,000) one hundred and 
eighty millions of Pagans, Jews, Hindoos, and Mus- 
selmen, has long groaned under the despotic rule of 
an ungodly and gigantic monopoly, the East India 
Company ; which had gold and power for its supreme 
divinities. It was founded Dec. 13, 1600, with a 
capital of about two millions of dollars, and grew to 
coUossal magnitude. After the retirement of the 
Marquis Wellessley, who had been the friend of re- 
ligion and the patron of learning, the succeeding 

'^ Southgate's Narrative of a Tour in Persia. Quoted by Bagster. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 89 

Governors G-eneralSj opposed all attempts to evan- 
gelize the Hindoos. They opposed the translation 
of the Holy Scriptures ; they opposed also the for- 
mation of a society for the carrying into effect the 
objects of the British and Foreign Bible Society ;'•' 
and it is stated that they even meanly hindered 
missionaries from sailing as passengers to India in 
their merchant vessels. They excluded the Bible 
and all religious teaching from their Godless govern- 
ment-schools and colleges. Those natives educated 
there knew nothing of Christianity, and becoming 
disgusted with heathenism, were, of course, left to 
infidelity. The sway of the company was vast. It 
had a revenue of $150,000,000, ruled a territory 
nineteen hundred by fifteen hundred square miles, 
and a population of 160,000,000. It gained from 
land rents an annual amount of 75 millions of dol- 
lars, from the culture of opium 25 millions, from 
the manufacture of salt 15 millions, and gave to its 
officers salaries (including extras) of from $10,000 
to $350,000 per year ; and that where a common 
native laborer received only eight or ten cents per 
day. This company was the great obstacle to the 
Gospel's course in India, and the opposition of this 
company was mosfc severe and determined. 

It is related that even soldiers embracing Christi- 
anity were, in consequence of it, expelled from their 
position, or hindered from promotion in their com- 

* Browne's Hist. Brit, and For. Bib. Soc, vol. ii: p. 104. 



90 Reasons 

panies. Such was the spirit of this professed 
Christian monopoly, which stood with its heel upon 
the breast of prostrate India, and guarded them as 
with a flaming sword, lest the Word of Grod should 
find way to their ears. Worse than this, that 
Christian government which has persistently resisted 
Christianity has, at the same time, sustained idolatry 
and horrid superstition. Says the Bombay Guardiam 
as quoted in the News of the Churches for Feb- 
ruary, 1858 : ^' There are now eight thousand two 
hundred and ninety-two idols and temples in the 
Madras Presidency, receiving from the government 
an annual payment of 876,780 rupees.^'* In the 
Bombay Presidency, there are 26,589 temples and 
idols under State patronage, receiving grants to the 
amount of 305,875 rupees, to which, add the allow- 
ance for temple lands, and we have a total for this 
Presidency of 698,593 rupees. The entire patron- 
age of the Honorable Company, for all its territories, 
amounted to one million, seven hundred and fifteea 
thousand, two hundred and eighty-six rupees, — 
between 17 and 18 lakhs, paid annually in support 

of idolatry.^t 

These figures are appalling. They may serve to 
check the day-dreams of some who idly think that 
the world's conversion is at hand, and that we are 
gliding calmly on to a bright day of millennial 
peace. What a thought, that in the Bombay Presi- 

* A Rupee ie about 46 ct&., or 58 cts.— about $200,000. 
t A lakh of rupees is $55,000- 



For the Hope that is in 3Ie. 91 

dency alone, there have been no less than twenty- 
six thousand five hundred and eighty-nine heathen 
temples and idols, receiving aid from that Chris- 
tian Grovernment every year. The churches and 
chapels, the places of worship of all kinds in the 
whole of Great Britain are less in number than the 
idolatrous shrines, receiving aid from the govern- 
ment in the Bombay Presidency. What a thought, 
that this government has been accustomed to lavish 
an annual stipend of about eight hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars upon those hateful idolatrous 
shrines, which, without this governmental aid, would 
have fallen to decay. Even Juggernaut's Oar itself 
has been driven forward by the same means, and the 
only difference that occurred through the reproach 
of it was, that with a hypocrisy worthy of the cause; 
Lord Dalhousie severed the link that bound the 
government to make the idol its annual approxi- 
mation^ by making ^permanent grant of lands^ the 
annual produce of which would be equal to the 
usual contribution which had been made.-^ With 

* In Kovember, 1858, as a preacher named Dodt was preaching in the 
street, one market day, near Moozufferpore, to some sixty or seventy per- 
sons who gathered to hear, he says — "After I had spoken for half an hour, 
I just touched on the futility of worshipping idols, especially the idol Jagger- 
nath, when one in the crowd, a Brahman, (and there were about twelve or 
5fteen Brahman's standing close to me,) called out, but in a very friendly 
manner : * You are the Lords of the country, why then do you keep Jagger- 
nath 1 Does not your rule extend to Puri 7 Then knock him down, and 
none will raise him again I !' I replied, ' Shall we, indeed, overthrow your 
idols I Will you not rise up against us V ' "N'ahin, Nahin,' he replied, and 
others joined him — ' we shall be glad at it •, and when he is once down none 



92 Reasons 

such a state of things, one cannot wonder at the 
statement made by A. H. Danforth, late missionary 
at Assam, before the Missionary Union in N. Y., 
May, 1859, — '^ I have been told that I give dark 
pictures of the moral condition of India. It is dark. 
I can lay before you no ideal romantic representa- 
tions. India hates the Gospel, and yet, like all the 
rest of the world, must perish without it.'" Nor can 
I be surprised that Archdeacon Jefferies, a mission- 
ary in the East Indies^ should state that ^^ for 07ie 
really converted Christian, as a fruit of missionary 
labor, the drinking practices of the English have 
made fully one thousand drunkards in India." 

Such have been the awful clouds that have hung 
over India. In spite of all this something has been 
done. For India there have been printed three 

MILLIONS, ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO THOUS- 
AND, ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY- ONE COpicS of 

Scripture (3,122,121) within the last few years, by 
the B. and For. Bible Society and others ; and so 
amid difficulties the work went on. At length a 
change came. In that very city, and in the same 
regiment from which a man was expelled for becom- 
ing a Christian, broke out the terrible East Indian 
mutiny and insurrection. The Godless government 

will worship him any more.' I continued, ' You know we do not make 
Christians by force, as you have also heard in the late proclamation of our 
Queen* Again they replied : ' Sir, to make Christians is one thing, and to 
ease people of their burden is another thing; Jaggernath is to all of us a 
great burden.' ... At last they took all the books that I had brought with 
me.'*— Eeport Brit and For, Bib. Soc 1859 : p. 175. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 93 

schools had furnished a graduate, a polished shaft 
in Satan's quiver, Nena-Sahib, well qualified to su- 
perintend the work of desolation which ensued. 1 
need not recite the resultant horrors — the tales of 
Delhi, and Lucknow, and Allahobad, and Oude, and 
many other places are fresh in the reader's mind. 
The struo:o:le has been terrible, wounds have been 
inflicted which shall never be healed on earth, and 
India has again sunk back beneath its conqueror's 
power. But there has been a change ; the national 
conscience has been startled, and has protested 
against the past ungodliness ; the monopoly of the 
East India Company has ceased, and India has be- 
come an integral part of the British Empire. On 
this event the British and Foreign Bible Society in 
their report remark, '^ The righteous demand of the 
nation will be, that henceforth India shall be ruled 
on Christian principles ; that the policy which would 
discourage and frown upon the lawful efforts of good 
men to propagate the Gospel of Christ, or in any 
way help to sanction and perpetuate the rites of 
caste and idolatrous worship, or place impediments 
in the path of natives desirous of embracing Chris- 
tianity by making the profession of its principles 
a barrier to advancement, and so a brand of 
degradation shall be at once and forever abolish- 
ed.^'" On March 31st, 1859, the special contribu- 
tions to the B. and F. Bible Society to send Bibles 

* Report for 1859, p. 162. 



94 Reasons 

to India had reached the amount of $30,000. So 
there is a disposition to send the Bible to that dark 
and dreary land. God has spoken, and his voice 
says, ^' This Gospel shall be preached/' 

Africa has been almost an unknown land to man- 
kind for ages past. But the time" has come when 
the Gospel must go to Africa. And while the world 
has been busy with its scenes and cares, lo ! in 1856, 
there comes a man, long forgotten and given up for 
lost, hardly able from his long converse with barba- 
rians to speak his native tongue, but who brings us 
tidings never told before of travel, exploration, 
teaching, and preaching in the vast regions of South 
Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope almost to the 
Equator, and from the South Atlantic to the Indian 
Ocean. From the mouth of the Zambesi on the 
east to that of the Bengo on the west, he had travel- 
ed, and labored, and suffered, and preached salvation 
to the lost. That man, wild, haggard, and worn ; 
his bones munched by lions, his constitution broken 
by twenty-seven attacks of fever, his brow furrow- 
ed by the toils of his weary journeyings, and his 
skin bronzed by the scorching sun of i^frica, was 
David Livingstone, a minister of Christ, who for the 
sixteen years since 1840 had been prosecuting this 
mighty work. About the same time Dr. Barth re- 
turns from his six years' tour of travel, exploration, 
and discovery in North and Central Africa, reaching 
from the Mediterranean to the very verge of the 



For the Rope that h in Me. 95 

equator, and from Darfur on the east to the North 
Atlantic Ocean on the west, and unfolding the 
beauty of vast portions of its unexplored and fertile 
interior to the civilized world. The map of Central 
Africa is no longer a blank. The heart of Africa is 
at last laid open to our view. It is no longer a land 
of darkness and of the shadow of death, it is no 
longer a desert waste, a pestilential marsh, or the hid- 
ing place of wild beasts and bloody men. Its fea- 
tures, products, races, religions, and governments are 
spread out before us. It can be reached ; it is ac- 
cessible io the messengers of salvation. And Liv- 
ingstone has returned thither, and is engaged in 
pushing forward the glorious work. 

When Livingstone held his first public religious 
service, Sechele, an African Chief, desired, as was 
their custom when a new subject was presented, the 
privilege of asking questions about it. Says Liv- 
ingstone, ^' On my expressing my entire willingness 
to answer his questions, he enquired if my fore- 
fathers knew of a future judgment. I replied in 
the affirmative, and began to describe the scene of 
the ^ great white throne, and Him who shall sit on 
it, from whose face the heaven and earth shall flee 
away,' &c. He said ^ you startle me ; these words 
make all my bones to shake ; I have no more strength 
in me ; but my forefathers were living at the same 
time yours were, and how is it that they did not 
send them word about these terrible thingrs sooner ? 



96 Becisons 

They all passed away into darkness without know- 
ing whither they were going/ I got out of the dif- 
ficulty by explaining the geographical barriers in 
the north, and the gradual spread of knowledge 
from the south, to which we first had access by 
means of ships ; and I expressed my belief that as 
Christ had said, the whole world would yet be en- 
lightened by the Gospel. Pointing to the great 
Kalahdri Desert, he said, ^ you can never cross that 
country to the tribes beyond ; it is utterly impossi- 
ble even for us black men, except in certain seasons 
when more than the usual supply of rain fails/ &c/' 
Notwithstanding the chieftain's declarations, he was 
afterwards converted and subsequently assisted Liv- 
ingstone in crossing that very desert in his explora- 
tions, that he might preach the Gospel there.'*" 

Such are the facts that illustrate the opening of 
this vast harvest field. The Gospel has been plant- 
ed among those benighted ones, and '^ Ethiopia shall 
soon stretch out her hands unto God,'' yea even now 
her hands, bleeding and manacled, are stretched 
forth, and God sends answers of peace and messages 
of blessing to poor benighted Africa. 

We turn for a moment to Japan, with perhaps 
some fifty millions of inhabitants. Japan, isolated 
by language, religion, position and tradition from all 
the rest of mankind ; Japan, once swarming with a 
race of Jesuits, for whose sake the name of God has 
since been blasphemed among the heathen, and the 

*XivTiigstone'8 TravelSj Harpers' P]dition, p. 18. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 97 

last traces of wliose woik in that empire were wiped 
out by one mighty massacre ; Japan, whose sons 
made it their duty to trample with contempt upon 
the cross ; Japan, which sought or allowed no ac- 
quaintance, commerce, or intercourse with mankind ; 
Japan, which, of all the world, only allowed 
eleven Dutch traders to reside upon the small island 
of Desima, and a few Dutch vessels, under rigid re- 
strictions, to approach them and trade ; Japan, 
which had its pillar erected with the inscription that 
if any one^ even the God of the Christians himself ^ 
should come there to preach Christianity he should 
he put to death ; Japan, so darkened, dungeoned, 
bolted, barred, and chained, has nevertheless been 
opened at last, and has concluded a treaty with 
England and America, '' which not only affords 
ample scope for commercial enterprise, but secures 
toleration for the introduction and reception of 
Christianity." The Gospel of Luke is already trans- 
lated into Japanese, and a small edition is, perhaps 
by this time, prepared and on its way to shed the 
light of life upon that dark and cloudy land. The 
opening is auspicious and the results will no doubt 
be glorious. Men may view it as a triumph of com- 
merce, as a sphere of education and civilization and 
enterprise, but beyond all this I see a mightier hand, 
and discern a loftier purpose. ^' The counsel of the 
Lord that shall stand V^ and since he has declared 
that '^ this Gospel of the kingdom be preached in all 



98 Reasons 

the world for a witness unto all nations, and then 
shall the end come/' surely until it is done '^ the 
isles shall wait for his law." 

The word of Grodis not bound. It has a currency 
such as it never had before. It seems to fly like 
that mighty angel preaching the everlasting Gospel 
to every kindred and tongue and nation, saying, 
" Fear Grod, and give glory unto Him, for the hour 
of His judgment is come." How white are the 
fields ! — how vast the harvest ! — how few the la- 
borers ! '' Pray ye the Lord of the harvest to send 
forth laborers into his harvesf 

China is open to the Bible. India is open, Tur- 
key is open, Africa is open, Japan is open, and all 
these vast regions have been opened within a very few 
months past — opened, it may be, by the thunders of 
war, or by the golden key of commerce ; opened by 
selfishness, ambition, and wrong ; or by wisdom, 
civili-zation and love ; yet opened that, unperceived 
perhaps amid the throng who crowd the unfolding 
gates, this Gospel may enter to proclaim the 
approaching glories of the Kingdom of God, and to 
solemnly warn men that they must stand before the 
judgment seat of Christ ! Above the ambition ot 
conquerors, the cruelty of despots, the pride of prin- 
ces, the love of mammon, the march of science, oi 
the rush of human enterprise, God hath his high 
and lofty work. '^ This Gospel of the kingdom shall 
be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all 



For the Hope that is in Me. 99 

nations, and then shall the end come/' Is it not 
being preached in all the world ? Have not earth's 
darkest habitations been opened up beyond all par- 
allel during the last few brief months that are 
past ? Is it not spreading as it never spread before ? 
Is it not witnessing both for its believers and 
against its rejectors ? And is not the end at hand ? 
Is not Grod making ready his people to meet him at 
his coming ? Let then this work go on. Let 
America feel the glowing influences of divine love. 
Let Ireland, long thirsty, catch a Pentecostal shower, 
and let multitudes, in all lands, believe in Christ 
and be saved. The time is short — the day is at 
hand — '' the coming of the Lord draweth nigh/' 

Go, then, ye swift messengers of salvation to 
earth's remotest bounds, and publish the glad tidings 
of the coming kingdom of your God. Cease not 
your glorious work 

" Till o'er our ransomed nature, 
The Lamb for sinners slain, 
Redeemer, King, Creator, 
In bliss RETURNS to reign.'' 

VI. Our Saviour has predicted, that at the time 
of his appearance, the world will be careless, and 
secure, and fearless of the coming of that day. 
^' For as it was in the days that were before the 
flood ; they were eating and drinking, marrying 
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah 
entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood 



100 ., Reasons — 

came and took them all away ; so shall also the 
COMING OF THE SoN OF MAN be/' Math, xxiv : 38, 
39. And as in the days of Lot, '^ the same day 
that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brim- 
stone from heaven, and destroyed them all, even thus 
shall it be in the day when the Son of man is 
REVEALED.'' Luke xvii : 28, 29. 

And is not the world in just that state of careless 
slumber now ? Is there not the same apathy and 
lethargy to-day ? Do not worldliness, and lust, 
and pleasure, engross the minds of the multitudes 
now ? Have not the world combined to sing of the 
^' good time that's coming^' and forget the duties 
that are present^ and the dangers that are impend- 
ing ? Have not vast multitudes of the professed 
church united to tell what Luther called ^^a false- 
hood FORGED by Satan, that he might darken 
sound doctrine ;" namely : that " before the latter day 
all THE WORLD shall become Christians ?'' Locked 
in the security of worldly slumber, men heed not 
the approach of danger. And as the flood broke in 
upon their dreams, or as the fiery storm turned to 
deep wailing the riotous pleasure of the cities of the 
plain, even so '^ the day of the Lord'' shall thunder 
its terrors upon the careless and ungodly, who peo- 
ple the world at the completion of this age. Is 
not this vvide-spread carelessness then a most solemn 
portent of approaching doom ? While the wicked 
say with heart, and lips, and life, '^ there is nc 



For the Hope that is in Me. lOl 

God" — '^all things continue as they were from the 
beginning of the creation/' — should not the humble 
and the prayerful tremble lest the day of the Lord, 
which '''so Cometh as a thief in the night/' should 
overtake them in the general security ? Let us 
watch and pray always^ that we ^' may be account- 
ed worthy to escape all these things that shall come 
to pass, and to stand before the Son of man/' Luke 
xxi : 36. In the language of Mathew Henry on 
2 Pet. iii : ^' That time which men think to be the 
most improper and unlikely, and therefore are the 
most secure, will be the time of the Lord's coming. 
Let us then beware how we, in our thoughts and 
imaginings, put that day far away from us ; let us 
rather suppose it to be so much nearer in reality, 
by how much further off it is in the opinion of the 
ungodly world." 

VII. Our Saviour declared, that Jerusalem should 
be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of 
the Gentiles w^ere fulfilled. '' And there will be 
signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars ; 
and on the earth distress of nations, with perplex- 
ity ; AS THE ROARING OF THE SEA AND WAVES : 

men's hearts failing them through fear and expec- 
tation of the things which are coming on the earth ; 
for the powers of heaven will be shaken : and then 
will they see the Son of man coming on a cloud, 
with power and great glory : and when these things 
begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your 



102 . Reasons 

heads, for your redemption draweth nigh/' Luke 
xxi : 25-28. Penn's Translation. 

This prediction could not have been fulfilled in 
ages gone by, because Jerusalem is still trodden 
down of the Gentiles, and hence their '' times" are 
not fulfilled or accomplished. But the iron hand of 
Grentile tyranny seems to be loosening its grasp 
upon that land and that city, and all eyes instinc- 
tively turn towards the eastern world awaiting the 
unfolding of predicted events. 

Dr. MacGowan, who has been in Jerusalem as a 
physician for the poor since 1841, writes, Sept 29th, 
1859 : '' An extraordinary change has come over the 
city of Jerusalem. It is no longer the ' city which 
no man seeketh after.' It is now the resort of the 
wealthy, and the great ones of the earth. Large 
purchases of houses and lands have been made by 
agents of European Governments^ and establish- 
ments on a large and magnificent scale will shortly 
be made in the neighborhood.^' He also stated that 
the increase of population is such, that the prices of 
provisions and rents had been greatly enhanced, 
much to the present disadvantage of the poorer 
people. These things indicate a marked change in 
the course of circumstances there, and doubtless 
other changes are in progress. And each token that 
Gentile domination approaches its termination 
there, is a token that David's long desolate throne 
shall yet be erected, and Israel's long prostrate dia- 



For the Hope that is in Me. 103 

dem shall yet be uplifted and placed upon a royal 
brow, when He shall ^^ come whose right it is/' and 
God shall -'give it him/' Ezek. xxi : 27. 

There have been also, within the past few years, 
certain most striking exhibitions of celestial phenom- 
ena, w4iich greatly exercised the minds of beholders, 
and which, at the time of their occurrence produced 
a profound impression and conviction that they 
were the portents of the day of doom. There was, 
in the year 1780, a most remarkable obscuration of 
the sun and moon, and the meteoric shower of Nov. 
13th, 1833, which was unparalleled in its vast extent, 
reaching over ^^ no inconsiderable part of the earth's 
surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the 
east, to the Pacific on the west, and from the 
northern coast of South America, to undefined re- 
gions among the British possessions on the north," 
was declared, by Professor Olmsted of New Haven, 
to be, probably, '^ the greatest display of celestial 
fireworks that has ever been seen since the creation 
of the world, or, at least, within the annals covered 
by the pages of history." Divers other remarkable 
signs and wonders have also been observed from time 
to time. But perhaps the prophecy relates more 
specially to other and still greater manifestations 
which shall succeed '^ the times of the Grentiles," 
and w4iich shall occur in immediate proximity^to 
the day of God, and in connection with the terrible 
convnlsjons of nature which shall attend its presence. 



104 Reasons 

However this may be, the ^^ times of the Gentiles' 
are evidently near their conclusion, and this fact is, 
to those who are watching, a token that their '^ re- 
demption draweth nigh/' 

VIII. The Apostles were accustomed to speak of 
the times in which they lived, as " these last days,^^ 
'' the last time,^^ '' the last days,^' &c. Heb. i : 1, 2 ; 
1 John ii : 18 ; Acts iii : 17, 18. Now it is mani- 
fest that the ^'last days'' could not come until more 
than half of the given series had passed by. The 
expression " the last days^'' it wall be remembered, 
has an import more or less extensive,"' according to 
the period in which it is used. Thus, as the pil- 
grim, while on a journey of six thousand miles, hav- 
ing passed one-third of the distance, would look 
forward to the last two thousand, as the last miles, 
so the prophets saw the whole Christian dispensa- 
tion as '' the last days/' and as the pilgrim after 
traveling four thousand miles of his journey would 
naturally at times speak of being already on the 
last part of it, and yet, at other times, would speak 
of the last miles as yet in the future^ and immediate- 
ly preceding and extending to the journey's end ; so 
the Apostles, standing at the commencement of the 
Gospel age, at times represent themselves as living 
in ^'the last days," and then again speak of those 
days as being yet in the future, and extending to, 
and closing with, the conclusion of the church's long 
journey in a groaning world. One thing, however. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 105 

is clear, that the expression, '' the last days,'' in 
its most comprehensive sense, cannot embrace more 
than the last half of the specified period, and must 
always include '^ the last day/' And so, as the 
Apostles spoke of living ''in the last days/' or 
'' last time,'' the conclusion is inevitable, that the 
world's allotted period was then more than half ex- 
pired, — that '' the night was far spent and the day 
ivas at hand," Rom. xiii : 12, and that the vain 
imaginations of those men who fancy that myriads 
of ages will pass ere the end of this dispensation, 
are entirely destitute of truth. '^ 

I know there are men that sagely tell us, that 
this world is in its infancy, that all anticipations of 
speedy judgment are altogether premature, the 
world is young, and the race of mankind just start- 
ing in its course. My answer to such is. What do 
Tou know about the infancy of worlds ? How many 
worlds have you nourished and brought up ? How 
many are there chronicled in your family record ? 
How do you judge of the age of worlds ? Where 
is there a world that is just born, and where one 
that has grown hoary with age ? Tell us, that we 
may compare them. What do you know about it ? 
You, who are of yesterday ? You, whose ancestors 
by scores of generations have lived and died like 
worms and insects upon this very earth that is so 

* "The Last Days." For a more full discussion of this subject plense 
consult that Tract, pp. 52-53 of " Tracts on Prophecy," by H. L. Hastings 



106 Iteasons 

young ? What can you tell about it ? As well 
might the mushroom of last night call the oak of 
ages, beneath which it has just sprouted to its fungus 
life, " yet in its infancy V 

Doubtless the same argument was used, as it 
might have been with tenfold more force, before the 
flood in Noah's day. No doubt men said then, ^Hhe 
world is in its infancy,^' and with better reason too 
than it could be said by us who see it waxing old 
like a garment^ heaved by mighty earthquakes, and 
dotted by some two hundred volcanoes, which tell 
us with their fiery belchings, how creation ^/groanetb 
and travaileth in pain together until now/' -^ Sure- 
ly an argument which was overwhelmed in the 
deluore of old, need not be answered ao-ain now. 

The facts are plain. The Apostles lived in the 
last days. Not in the world's infancy, not in crea- 
tion's morn. We are eighteen hundred years farther 
down the stream of time than they; and it is too 
late to talk of '^ the world's infancy" now, when old 
age is upon her, and the day of her last convulsion 
and her glorious palingenesia, her glad regenera- 
tion, is so near at hand. Surely then I may have 
hope of seeing Jesus soon, since earth's last days 
are now so " far spent." 

IX. The Apostles Peter and Jude declare that 
in the last days there should come scoffers and 

* See "The Three Worlds; or Earth's Past, Present and Future.*' 
Tracts on Prophecy, pp. 26-50. 



For the Hope that is in Me, 107 

mockers walking after their own ungodly lusts, and 
saying, where is the promise of His coming ? That 
they should be sensual, animal, or ^^ soulual^'^ hav- 
ing not a spirit^ — psuchikoi, pneuma me echontes. 
Jude 18, 19 ; 2 Pet. iii : 1-7. And do we not see 
hosts of just such men on the earth at the present 
day ? Men that are sensual, animal, carnal and 
lustful ? Men that deny spiritual things because 
they have no capacity for them, and reject the doc- 
trine of the Holy Spirit, because they have done 
despite to its heavenly influence ? Men who have 
denied '^ the^Lord that bought them," and yet are 
self-righteous beyond the pharisees of old. Like 
one that I once saw, who, though professedly a min- 
ister of the Gospel, and the editor of a religious pe- 
riodical, could say, in the presence of God whom he 
had dishonored, and men, whom he had belied, 
'' I never violated a Christian principle in my life ;'' 
or like another who, himself a dram-drinker and some- 
times intoxicated, could fill up his preaching with 
scoffing mimicry of revivals, and with sneering 
mockery at effectual fervent prayer. Ah ! the world 
is too full of men that scoff and rail at goodness, 
and God, and Christ, and salvation by grace divine. 
There are scoffers who deny that Christ will ever 
appear ; who walk '' after their own lusts," who sup- 
pose that gain is godliness, and who riot in security 
like the Sodomites and antediluvians of old. And 
because there are such scoffers — scoffers in the churchy 



108 Reasons 

and scoffers in the world, men whose God is their 
belly and whose glory is their shame ; men, who say 
" all things continue as they were from the begin- 
ning of creation ;" men, who mock at judgment, and 
who defy wrath ; men, who forget the deluge and 
take no warning from Sodom and Gomorrah ; men, 
who reject the scriptures and say to-morrow shall be 
as this day and more abundant ; men, who deny the 
resurrection of the dead, and say that death is an 
eternal sleep ; men, who excel in all ungodliness^ 
dishonesty, and hypocrisy, because such men as these 
so throng our world — I have a reason to expect that 
he who will judge the world in righteousness, and 
renew all things, is near at hand. 

X. The Apostle Paul declared that the last days 
should be days of especial peril and moral danger. 
Thus he wrote : ^^ This know also, that in the last 
DAYS PERILOUS TIMES shall come. For men shall 
be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, 
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthank- 
ful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, 
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those 
that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers 
of pleasure more than lovers of God ; having a 
form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof : 
from such turn away. For of this sort are they 
which creep into houses, and lead captive silly 
women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
ever learning, and never able to come to the know- 



For the Hope that is in Me. 109 

ledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres 
withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth : 
men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith, 
but they shall proceed no further : for their folly 
shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. . . 
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus 
shall suffer persecution. But evil men and sedu- 
cers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and 
BEING DECEIVED.'' 2 Tim. iii : 1-12. 

No language can more clearly disclose the precise 
character of the age in which we live, than that 
which we have quoted. Each of these several 
" perils'' is visible to the observing eye. This pro- 
phecy is a most grajphic sermon for the times, and 
no writer ever sketched the actual state of the age 
in which we live, with such brevity and yet with 
such life-like fidelity, as Paul. Each word might 
well be the text for a whole discourse. Each sen- 
tence is pregnant with deep and solemn meaning. — 
These dark characteristics mark the present age, 
the selfishness, boasting, pride, disobedience to pa- 
rents, treachery, and corruption are all here, they are 
marked peculiarities of the present age. Are we 
not then in that period denominated by Paul, ^' The 
last days .^" And, if so, have we not reason to ex- 
pect the appearing of our Lord ere long ? 

XI. The Scriptures niost abundantly declare that 
the coming of the Lord shall occur in the midst of 
troublous times, when angry nations shall contest 



110 ♦ Reasons 

His right to rule the world. And is there aught 
that foreshadows such a state of things at hand ? 
Said one of the most noted and eloquent speakers in 
this country : '' The good time is coming^ but not 
in your day or mine. Ten years ago^ I would not 
have said so^ for then most people supposed that the 
millennium was at hand. But," said he, ^^ never 
were there such preparations for war on the earth as 
now. Never so many armed men," &c.* There 
have been no general wars in the earth for a genera- 
tion past, and yet, never since the world began, have 
there been such armed hosts as now. Never has the 
world beheld such terrible engines of death as now. 
Never were the navies of earth so potent for destruc- 
I on as now. Never were there such vast munitions 
of war, such terribly effective weapons, such scien- 
tific preparations, concocted with all the wisdom 
from beneath, which is earthly, sensual, and devil- 
ish, as now. Butchery is taught by new rules, and 
practiced with improved implements. Eevolvers, 
rifles, rifled cannon, military telegraphs, infernal 
machines, explosive engines, and all the terrible in- 
struments which science has laid as a tribute at the 
feet of grim and gory war ; — all these indicate not 

* Henry Ward Beecher, in a Lecture on " The Burdens of Society." — I 
have quoted from memory. — It may be that men's eyes will yet look a little 
beyond the outside show of a few kind-hearted gentlemen who get up peace 
conventions, and publish excellent reports, to see the real state of a world 
that " lieth in the wicked one.^^ Peace in this world? Not while the 
children of the bond-woman struggle with those of the free. Not till earth 
is puie shall earth be peaceable. 



For the Hope that is in Me. Ill 

the peaceful prospects of amiable and tender-hearted 
men, who seem to suppose the world, the flesh and the 
devil as amiable as they are themselves ; but rather a 
preparation for a trial of strength amid clouds of sul- 
phurous smoke, — amid the rumbling of artillery, the* 
rush of chargers and the thundering tread of armed 
men. And do not these indicate the coming of w^ar, — 
yea, of '' the war (polemos) of the great day of God 
Almighty ?'' Are they not like clouds that presage 
the approaching storm ? And may I not take them 
as portents of that last struggle which shall be not 
^^ with confused noise, and with garments rolled in 
blood," but '^ with fuel of fire," when the kings of 
the earth ^^ shall make war with the Lamb, and the 
Lamb shall overcome them, for he is King of kings, 
and Lord of lords '," when in that mighty struggle 
of sin with omnipotence, eight shall gain the day, 
and Christ shall introduce his everlasting reign ?*'^ 
XII. The Apostles declare that the close of this 
age was to be marked by special manifestations of 
demoniac powers and satanic inflaences. Thus said 
the Apostle Paul : ^^Now we beseech you, brethren, 
by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and con- 
cernino; our s^atherino* too-ether unto him, that ye be 
not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by 
spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that 

* Isa. ix : 5-7. Rev. xvii : 14. Consult the last two chapters of " The 
Great Controversy between God and Man ; its Origin, Progress, and End.^ ' 
By H. L. H. 



112 Reasons 

the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive 
you by any means : for that day shall not come^ ex- 
cept there come a falling away first, and that man 
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; who oppo- 
seth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
Grod, or that is worshiped ; so that he as God, sit- 
teth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he 
is God. Eemember ye not, that, when I was yet 
with you, I told you these things ? And now ye 
know wliat withholdeth that he might be revealed 
in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth al- 
ready work : only he who now letteth will let^ until 
he be taken out of the way. And then shall that 
wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume 
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with 
the brightness of his coming : Even him, whose 
coming is after the working of Satan with all 

POWER AND SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS, and with all 

deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that 
PERISH ; because they received not the love of the 
truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause 
God shall send them strong delusion, that they 
should believe a lie : that they ail might be 
damned who believed not the truth, but had 
pleasure in unrighteousness.'' 2 Thess. iii : 1-12. 
Now, though the first part of this passage may 
have reference to the wickedness of the Papal Church, 
yet I am confident that this manifestation of the 
working, or '^energy of Satan/' "with all signs 



For the Hope that is in Me. 113 

and lying wonders/' and ''with all deceivableness of 
unrighteousness in them that perish/' has a special 
and direct reference to the work of those " seducing 
spirits" and to those '^ doctrines of demons" which 
are so rife at the present day. 

This delusion, which has rolled in like a flood 
upon Christendom, and made such multitudes of 
adherents among an ungodly world, and also among 
a sleeping and careless church, is no strange or un- 
expected thing to those who take heed to the '' sure 
word of prophecy." It has been anticipated, and 
years before its development the students of prophe- 
cy were forewarned of it — thus forearmed against it. 

In 1842, the late Edward Bickersteth, of England, 
wrote as follows : " Looking at the signs of the times, 
and the long neglect and unnatural denial of all an- 
gelic ministration or spiritual influence, and at the 
express predictions of false Ohrists^ and false 
prophets, who shall show signs and wonders^ inso- 
much that if it were possible they should deceive the 
very elect ^ and that when men receive not the love of 
the truth that they might he saved^ for this cause 
God shall send them strong delusion^ that they 
should believe a lie ; I cannot but think there is a 
painful prospect of a sudden recoil and religious re- 
vulsion from the present unbelief and misbelief, to 
an unnatural and undistinguishing credulity. 
when Anti-Christ shall appear in his latest form, 
^ with signs and lying wonders.' I would, there- 



114 Reasons 

fore, leave an earnest caution on the minds of my 
readers. Beloved^ believe not every every spirit, 
hut try the spirits whether they are of God. The 
scriptures have forewarned us beforehand, that we 
may not be led away with the error of the wicked, 
and fall from our own steadfastness.'^'^ 

I read these words several years ago, long before I 
heard of what are called spirit manifestations. I 
marked the words, and when in after years I heard 
authentic and circumstantial accounts of spirit mir- 
acles and marvels, I remembered the warning of 
God's word, and was not long in doubt as to the 
character, then dimly seen, but now fully unfold- 
ed, and destined to a yet fuller manifestation in the 
remaining hours of mortal wickedness ; of the spirits 
that come from spheres and ^' chains of darkness'' 
to hold converse with the necromancers and infidels 
of the present day. 

Fifteen or twenty years ago we lived in an age of 
'^unbelief and misbelief/' concerning all spiritual 
powers and influences. The idea of ghosts, spirits, 
angels, demons, the devil, or any spiritual powers 
whatever, was scoffed at, mocked out of all society, 
doubted, disbelieved and denied, not only by the in- 
fidel world, but by a large portion of Christendom. 

* Introduction to " Principalities and Powers in Heavenly Places." An 
excellent Book, by Charlotte Elizabeth, p. xi. For information concerning 
the present Spirit Manifestations consult " Spiritualism, a Satanic Delu- 
Birn/' by Wm. Ramsey, D. B. Edited by H. L. Hastings. 



For the Hope that is in Me. 115 

At that time I doubt if one infidel in an hundred 
could have been found who believed in the ex- 
istence of any kind of spirit influences. This was 
the age of '^ unbelief and misbelief — it was the 
pendulum swung clear to one side. The Devil 
was a myth ; demons were fancies^ spirits were shams, 
angels were phantoms of imagination. " They re- 
ceived not the love of the truth that they might he 
saved.'' They would not heed the divine warning. 
They mocked at God's revelations concerning the 
angels, the demons, and Satan their prince. Grod 
sent on them at length a strong delusion. The 
*^ sudden recoil and religious revulsion'^ has come. 
Throughout Christendom probably nineteen out of 
twenty of the sceptics, free-thinkers, infidels, and 
deists, who, twenty years ago, rejected all faith in 
such things, are now firm believers in spiritual man- 
ifestations, and have hugged to their bosoms this 
falsehood of Satan as the very anchor of their hope. 
The '^ strong delusion" has come upon them ; and 
they are taken in it. The infidels, backsliders, uni- 
versalists and apostates of the age, have swallowed 
Satan's bait and are taken with his hook. The new 
revelations, knocked out of tables, chairs, and bed- 
steads ; or written perchance by the hand of some 
misguided woman ; the work of spirits of doubtful 
character, communicated through mediums of a 
character equally indefinite ; have been bolted in a 
mass^ with all their follies, fables, incongruities, lies 



116 Beasons 

and immoralities ; and men who could not believe 
the Bible^ from sheer lack of credulity, have 
swallowed fables which are only equalled by the 
stories of Mahomet, or the sublime fooleries of Bra- 
minical legends. 

There are now numerous spirit priestesses and 
mediums, who, like the damsel at Phillipi, that 
'• brought her masters much gain by soothsaying," 
pursue the same trade for a similar consideration. 
Some have forsaken their husbands^ — some of them 
lave been divorced from them. Some husbands 
nave obtained divorces from them on the ground of 
conjugal infidelity, and many others are living in a 
state of great domestic infelicity. For when the 
channels through which conjugal sympathies should 
pass, are filled up by the influence of unclean spirits, 
of course there can be no true and sympathetic love. 
These mediums are not all believers in spiritism. 
Some are entranced almost against their wills, 
and many of them are backsliders, apostates from 
God and goodness. 

Not long ago, I conversed with a '' Trance-speak- 
ing medium" who has been lecturing in several New 
England cities and towns, and who is hailed as an 
exponent of Spiritism, who confessed to me, with 
many tears, that after resisting her impressions and 
convictions of duty which wrought powerfully upon 
her mind, while she professed faith in Christ, she at 
length, when disobedient, despairing and desperate, 



/ 



For the Hope that is in Me. 117 

yielded to the importunities of friends and gave ner- 
self up to spirit-control. And now, wretched beyond 
description, longing for death, and yet fearing to put 
an end to her own miserable existence, she goes forth 
solely for ononey^ to teach under the control of 
spirits, whose reliability she does not pretend to 
demonstrate, and of whose good character she is not 
at all convinced ; and thus under that influence she 
teaches doctrines which she does not pretend that 
she believes, and whose only recommendation is, 
they bring her profit and hread. I dare not under- 
take to tell of her feelings, when I saw her, as 
manifested by tears and half frantic exclamations : 
the scene was enough to make the heart grow sick. 
She had yet conscience left, and was no doubt far 
superior to many mediums in morality and honesty ; 
but when I expostulated with her upon the delusion 
she was spreading among the unwary, she said. It 
was her business, and she must do it to live ; and 
when I besought her not to thus ruin others, said 
she, ^^I am desperate V I tried to tell her of the 
love of Christ, — ^^ Devil !'' broke from her lips with 
passionate energy, at the mention of Jesus' name, 
and she buried her face in her hands to hide her 
tears. I could only pity her and pray, Grod, if it 
be possible, deliver her from being led captive by 
Satan at his will ! 

In 1842, the idea of Spirit-communion would 
have been scoffed at by the infidel world. It is now 



118 Reasons 

a leading article in the unbeliever's creed. From 
the deceptions of evil spirits his scepticism gathers 
new strength, and he incontinently swallows the lies 
of unclean demons, who in their own secret con- 
sciousness do " believe and tremble'' in prospect of 
coming wrath. 

This tremendous movement is unparalleled in the 
history of mankind. Similar things have occurred 
in all ancient time, throughout the heathen world, 
as the histories of those ages bear witness,"^ but not 
to that vast extent which they have attained of late. 
It has been so sudden and so mighty that it has 
swept like a whirlwind over the infidel world. Wise- 
acres may cry humbug, blind guides talk of trickery, 
but after all their expositions it rushes on like a 
torrent, and indicates its devilishness by perpetual 
assaults upon the Bible, religion, virtue, marriage, 
and law. Its priests, like Jannes and Jambres in 
Egypt of old, resist the truth, and are men of cor- 
rupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. It 
numbers its votaries by myriads. It is just what 
prophetic students anticipated, and it is just where 
they expected to find it. 

Said Charlotte Elizabeth, in 1842, at the close of 
her volume on the subject of Grood and Evil Angels, 
^' Whatever glimpses we may have caught of the 

* The writer hopes, if God afford time aind means, to issue a series of lec- 
tures on Spiritual Manifestations ; Human, Divine, Angelic, and Satanic ; 
orhich will, to some extent, present the testimony of the ancient writers ou 
this subject. 



For the Hope that is in 31e. 119 

world of spirits in the course of this inquiry, must 
be turned to good account ; for we shall soon need 
to exercise judgment in the discerning of spirits. 
The sixth vial^ under which, there can be no doubt, 
we now live, is marked by the going forth of the 
three unclean demons, of whose miracle-workino- 
power we are forewarned ; and He who has deigned 
to show us things to come, has not set forth cun- 
ningly devised fables to amuse our fancy, but 
revealed solemn truths to guide our steps aright, 
when our path becomes perplexed beyond all that 
we have known hitherto, or that the experience of 
the church has recorded. He that is born after the 
flesh always persecutes him that is born after the 
Spirit ; but now we shall have the Author of all 
corruption of the flesh, persecuting the Lord in His 
members ; and we shall do well to measure, so far 
as we can, the extent of that power which is coming 
against us, that we may not only be the better pre- 
pared to withstand in the evil day, but also the 
better able to magnify the glorious might of Him 
who, having himself led the way, has given his pooi 
followers a commission to trample under foot all the 
power of the enemy. How needful, therefore, how 
precious are the admonitions of Scripture ! '^ Watch 
and pray.'' '^ Be ye also patient ; stablish your 
hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth uigh.'''^ 
Such are the solemn warnings which have been 

* Principalities and Powers, pp. 297, 298. 



120 Reasons 

uttered in the ears of the church for years before the 
coming of these modern manifestations of Satanic 
cunning, and mahce, and marvel. But such warn- 
ings were all unheeded by the ungodly and the de- 
luded. They had no interest in prophecy, they had 
no faith in God's warnings, they knew nothing of 
the solemn admonitions of his servants, and in hosts 
they have taken hold of this vast and spreading de- 
lusion. It is progressing now as it perhaps never 
was before, and I doubt not we shall yet see mani- 
festations of more marvellous power, and more 
terrible malignity than any that have yet appeared. 
We have seen but the beginning, what shall the 
conclusion be ?•" 

* The following statistics are taken from the Spiritual Register for 
i859. How reliable they may be I do not pretend to determine. 

NUMBER OF PROFESSED SPIRITUALISTS. 

Maine, 40,000 New Hampshire, 20,000 Vermont, . . 25,000 

Rhode Island, 5,000 Massachusetts, 100,000 Connecticut, 20,000 
New York, . . .350,000 New Jersey, .... 5.000 Louisiana, . . 15,000 

Arkansas, . . . 2,000 Ohio, 150,000 Michigan, . . . 70,000 

Indiana, 50,000 Illinois, 90,000 Wisconsin, .. 70,000 

Iowa, 25^000 Pennsylvania,... 80,000 Delaware, .. . 2,000 

Maryland, .... 3,000 Yirsjinia, 5,000 N. Carolina, . 4,000 

S. Carolina, . . 3,0.00 Georgia, 5,000 Kentucky, . . .10,000 

Tennesee, ... 20,000 Alabama, 6,000 Mississippi,.. 15,000 

Minnesota, ... 3,000 Missouri, 30,000 Kansas, 1,000 

Nebraska, . . . 1,000 Florida, 1,000 Texas, 20,000 

California,... 30,000 Oregon, 1,000 New Mexico, 2,000 



Total in the United States 1,284,000 

Canada 40,000 

Cuba 1,000 

South America 15,000 

The Eastern Continent » 600,000 



Total 1,940,000 



For the Hope that is in Me. 121 

It is said to be making its mark among the great, 
— the great scoundrels I mean, who deluge the 



world with blood, and gain that glory which rises 
fiom hecatombs of slaughtered soldiers, and thou- 
sands of broken hearts. The advocates of spiritism, 
in spite of all its pretentions to philanthropy, boast, 
with no small measure of glorying, that the recent 
wars in Europe have been planned and carried on 
by spirit direction. This, I presume, may be true, 
for they have acted there as if the devil guided them 
in his own way. It has been said that Louis Napo- 
leon, the man of perjury and destiny, has been 
under spirit guidance, and that Hume, the ablest 
spirit-medium in the w^orld, is his friend, attendant 
and counsellor — that a spirit, professing to be that 
of Napoleon the great, has been a ^' familiar spirit" 
for his nephew, during the campaign, and was guid- 
ing him onward to fulfil his destiny. 

Well, be it so ! and let these worshipers of de- 
mons, glory in this token of demoniac might ! The 
humble Christian turns to the word of God, and 
tracing his position in connection with events even 



The Register gives the names and addresses of 349 public 
speakers, and 238 professional mediums. 

The Register estimates that there are 1,000 puohc speakers, 40, 
000 mediums, pubhc and private; that 500 Spiritual books gcd 
pamphlets have been printed. 

Compare the above with the statistics for 1858 ! and it will bo 
seen that there has-been an increase of SpiritualiS':^ in one j^Rir oi 



302,500. 



122 Beasons 

now transpiring, he reads : '' And I saw three un- 
^?LEAN SPIRITS like frogs come out of the mouth of 
the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and 
out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they 
are the spirits of devils, {demons) working mira- 
cles, loMcli go forth unto the kings of the earth 
and of the whole world, to gather them to the 
battle {ivar ^ polemos) of that great day of God 
Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed 
IS he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest 
he walk naked, and they see his shame. '^ Such is 
(xod"s own solemn warning to his church. Just here, 
when evil spirits are accomplishing their last work 
among kings and nations, while Satan lurks as a 
controlling power behind the thrones of monarchs 
and rulers, urging them on to deadly strife ; while 
wars and commotions are being concocted by evil 
spirits themselves, — ^just here, the Master says, 
'' See ! I come as a thief Blessed is he that watch- 
eth !'' Let me then be watching, that I may 
inherit that blessing, and be found of Christ, in peace, 
when He shall appear. And, while I watch and 
hope for the salvation of Grod, surely each new de- 
vice of Satan, of which T am "^ not ignorant/' each 
BOW ^' wile of the devil" which I am called to with- 
fitand, — each new showing-forth of infernal wrath by 
him who '^ knoweth that his time is short/' yhall be 
to me a fresh reason for the hope that is in me, the 
hope that '^ the God of peace shall* bruise Satan 



For the Hope that is in Me. 123 

under our feet shortly'' and make his people share 
eternal victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Eev. xvi : 13, 14. Eph. vi : ii. Eom. xvi : 20. 

XIII. Finally, there is a very general, nay, 
almost universal anticipation of some great event 
which is shortly to transpire. All see some majes- 
tic foreshadowings before them. As in ancient days 
when, in the wilderness of Judea, John proclaimed 
the approach of the kingdom of G-od, so, now, '^ all 
are in expectation'' — looking for and hasting unto 
the coming of some grand event. The anticipations 
of ages seem culminating here, and resting upon 
something just in the future. What shall it be ? 
Some say a converted world ; but this is contrary to 
all appearances, analogy. Scripture, reason, fact, 
and the universal faith of the church for more than 
FOURTEEN HUNDRED YEARS. ^^ The infidel, the 
spiritist or necromancer, the politician, and the 
sage, all babble of coming good, but as to lohat^ and 
when J and how it shall come, they are in Egyptian 
darkness. We have seen from Scripture what is to 
come, — the Anointed of God, the Eedeemer of the 
world — ^^ The desire of all nations'' — Him of whom 
Israel's prophets have clearly spoken, and whom 
heathen sages have dimly foreseen. 

I am reminded of Confucius, the great teacher of 

* For PROor, consult " The Voice of the Church on the Reign of Christ," 
by D. T. Taylor, edited by H. L. Hastings. To be obtained of the publish- 
ers of the present Treatise, 



124 Heasons 

the Chinese, who, twenty-five hundred years ago, 
vainly strove to reform and elevate his nation. Fail- 
ing in this, he was forced to turn to a future hope, 
and promised them according to their Sacred Book 
Tshoung-young — '^ A great holy one, who shall 
appear in the latter days, to whom nations look for- 
ward as fading flowers thirst for rain. 

" He shall be born of a virgin, whose name shall 
be (Yen-vang) Prince of Peace. It shall be the 
prerogative of that ^ Most Holy One' — the holy one 
of all ages and nations, — to unite all rays of wisdom, 
and to attain to the perfection of all virtues. His 
all'penetrating spirit, his prudence, virtues, and 
counsels, shall govern the world without the prestige 
of power. The nobility of his soul, his magnanim- 
ity and humility, will unite all interests and win all 
hearts. The nations seeing him will prostrate them- 
selves before him, and hearing him, they shall be 
convinced, and with one voice praise his works. 
The whole world shall re-echo with the praise of his 
name and glory. 

'^ China shall see the rays of his glory ap- 
proaching, which shall penetrate even to the savage 
nations and to the unapproachable wildernesses, or 
there where no ship can reach.'' 

Said Zoroaster in his Zendavesta, (word of life) 
^'In the last time a man shall appear, named 
Oshandeberga, {. e., man of the world, who wiU 
adorn the world with religion and righteousness. . , 



For the Hope that is in Me. 125 

Kings shall obey him, and all his undertakings shall 
prosper. He shall give victory to true religion. In 
his time rest and peace shall prevail, all dissentions 
cease, and all grievances be done away."'** 

'' When God comes," said the Karen teacher, 
'' the dead trees will bloom again : the tigers and 
serpents will become tame ; there will be no dis- 
tinction between rich and poor, and universal peace 
will bless the world. ''f 

In the Scandinavian Mythology concerning Rag- 
narok, the twilight of the gods, or the end of the 
world after Tor (the strongest of the gods) contends 
with the serpent Midgard and slays him, — '' The 
sun and moon grow dark, and the stars fall from the 
heavens. Surtur scatters fire around him, and the 
earth is consumed, and finally sinks into the ocean. 

'^ After this springs up a new and perfect world. 
Evil has now disappeared. From the ocean there 
rises a new and eternally verdant earth, with run- 
nino^ streams and perpetually self- renewed harvests. 
The sun has begotten a wondrous beautiful daugh- 
ter, which follows in her mother's path around the 
world. Baldur, the good, returns, and with him all 
that are honest and good ; and a new human race 
shall dwell on and build up the world. The 
Almighty, whose name must not even be men- 

* The Messiah as predicted in the Pentateuch and Psalms, by J. R. 
Wolfe, p. Ixxsi. 
t Memoir of Mrs. Mason, Voice of the Church, p. 43. 



126 Heasons 

tioned, comes himself to govern and to judge 
all. The good shall inhabit the magnificent castle 
GimlCj which is more beautiful than the sun, and 
covered with gold/' &c.* 

Such have been the hopes on which heart-sick 
humanity hath stayed its fainting soul in the ages 
of gloom which are past. Buried in shadows of 
darkness, men still look forth for light. And 
never could their hopes rest upon the triumphs of 
humanity, or the success of principles, until 
they grasped the idea of a Coming and Divine One, 
who should redeem man and restore harmony 
to the world ; One who should fulfil that primal 
prediction delivered in Eden, and thus bruise the 
serpent's head ! 

And can it be that this hope shall fail ? Is there 
no element of truth in that world-wide anticipation 
of a coming '^ Day-spring from on high ?" Have 
all nations thought, and hoped — trusted and sighed 
in vain ? Nay, verily. The word of God has illu- 
mined, and defined, and shed lustre on the dim and 
shadowy hopes of ages past. In that Word, I trust 
God hath spoken and he shall make it good. 

'' For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, 
Yet once it is a httle while, 
And I will shake the heavens and the eabth, 
And the sea, and the dry land ; 
And I will shake all nations, 

♦Scafldinavian Mythology. American Eclectic, vol. ii: p. 332. ^ept. 1841 



For the Hope that is in Me. 127 

And the desire of all nations shall come; 
And I will fill this house with glory, 
Saith Jehovah of hosts." 

Haggai ii . 6, 7. Heb xii : 26-29. 

Such is my hope, a hope to which all creation, 
either blindly or with intelligent desire, stretches 
forth its heart and hands. KnA. this hope shall 
never fail. It rests upon immutable things, such as 
the oath and promise of Almighty God, 

Eeader, I have briefly laid before you the hope 
that is in me, with some of the reasons which cause 
me to cherish it. I present them to you ^^with 
meekness and fear,'' and I pray God that you may 
be led by divine grace to have that hope in Christ, 
which leads us to purify ourselves '^even as He is 
pure.'' Beloved in the Lord, let us, seeing we have 
such hope, be steadfast. Our toiling time will 
not be long. The night is far spent, the day is at 
hand. The Haster shall come to wipe away our 
tears — let us hail his approach with joy. Let us be 
patient with a world of sin, while our long-suf- 
fering God is not willing that any should perish, 
but that all should come to repentance. Let us 
then count the long-suffering of God as salvation, 
and let us labor that by all means we may save some 
who shall shine among the ransomed in the day of 
the Lord Jesus. 

Beloved, let us watch and pray, and wait with 
joy the consummation of oiir hope. Our Master will 



128 Reaso7is 

come, and give to us eternal life, and bliss, and 
glory. Let us keep, then, in sweet remembrance, 
His precious parting promise, '' I will come again 
and receive you to myself, that where I am, there ye 
may be also/' So shall we see His face in peace, 
and SB.y, '' Lo, this is our God, we have waited for 
him, and he will save us/^ 

Beloved, while our hearts, drawn by Christian 
sympathy and united in a common faith and hope, 
shall invoke blessings upon ourselves, each other, 
and all the Israel of God, let us not forget, also, to 
pray, ^' Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in 
earth as it is in Heaven ;'' and while we cheer our 
hearts with Jesus' last word to his church, " Surely 
I COME Q'UiCKLY !" let US gladden His soul by 
breathing back the responsive prayer, 

" AMEN, EVEN SO, COME LOED JESUS I" 



THE END. 



SPIRITUALISM. 



SATANIC DELUSION, 



AND 



A SIGN OF THE TIMES. 



BY WILLIAM RAMSEY, D.D., 

PASTOR OF THE CEDAR STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA* 



KDITED WITH A PREFACE, 
BY H. L. HASTINGS. 



• The Grod of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." — Rom= xvi ; 20i 

BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY H. L. HASTINGS, NO. 167 HANOVER ST 

W. H. PIPER AND CO., NO. 133 WASHINGTON ST, 

NEW YORK: a. W. CARLETON, 413 BROADWAY 

GEORGE W. YOUNG, 35 ANN ST., UP STAIRS. 

PHILADELPHIA : SMITH , ENGLISH, AND CO. 

1864. 



Entered according tc Act of Congress, in the year 1856. by 

WILLIAM RAMSEY, 

In the OflBce of the Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



The subject of spiritual agencies, and the investigation of 
their mysterious operations, is one of deep interest to mankind. 
From the earliest ages it has afforded ground for superstition, 
investigation, and speculation. Various as the theories of the 
present are found to be, they all, or nearly all, have their 
counterparts in the dim distance of ages past, and within the 
period covered by historic records, both sacred and profane. 

The belief in a race of invisible and superhuman agents, who 
are, more or less intimately concerned in terrestrial affairs, is 
found in all past ages, and is common alike to the Jews and 
the Barbarians, to the wise and the unwise, to Christians and 
to heathen. 

The subject has always been interesting. It is now increas- 
ing in interest, from the fact that attention has been called to 
it, and investigations have been made to a much greater extent 
than heretofore, especially since '' Spiritualism " has become 
the faith of millions, and the amazement of millions more. — • 
The writer had hoped ere this to have presented to the public 
a statement of the results of his researches on the subject ; he 
still hopes to do so in due time, if God permit. The subject 
is ample ; the field wide. 

The present treatise by a learned and able student and theo- 
logian, who was for years a missionary to India, and was there 
conversant with the various oriental forms of supernatural in- 
fluences, will be found interesting ; and, brief as it is, the 
writer has seen nothing that meets the requirements of the 
case so fully as this little treatise. 

The Bible is made the basis of the argument. Some Spirit- 
ualists will object to this To such, we will say that the foun- 
dations upon which that lests are neither known nor assailed 
as yet, by most who reject it with puny contempt. When they 
have given years to such investigations as those of Lardener, 
Keith, Paley, and others ; when they have answered and re- 
futed the arguments of such men as Leslie and Lyttleton ai?."? 
countless writers who have studied the subject ; then they may 
have some claim to speak with a degree of assurance. But 



IV editor's preface 



modest}^ is the truest wisdom of those who, in cavilling at 
Christianity, " speak evil of things that they know not of," and 
whose very cavils are proofs that they know neither the doc- 
trines of the Bible, nor the facts upon which its authority rests. 

Upon a basis — not of sacerdotal authority, but of sound rea- 
son ; not of mere theory, but of stubborn facts — we rest the 
foundations of our faith. We do not take the truths of the 
Bible for granted, we take them as 'proved, and proved by a mass 
of evidence which has accumulated for ages, and which infidels 
and sceptics have never met, or tried to meet. With this basis, 
we proceed to test the veracity and reliability of those spi- 
rits who come to us from their various spheres, and who seek 
to win our assent to the propositions which they promulgate. 

In characterizing Spiritualism as " A Satanic Delusion," we 
would speak not in contempt, but in words of solemn and 
earnest admonition. We would speak as those who must give 
an account, and would most affectionately strive to teach those 
who desire information, the perils that beset their course. In 
hope that this treatise may commend itself to the candor of 
an enlightened public, it is now committed to them. That it 
contains much truth, we doubt not ; that it will subvert or de- 
stroy the rapidl}^ increasing influence of Spiritualism, we do 
not expect. But if it shall prevent some from risking their 
eternal well-being in a most perilous path 5 if it shall strength- 
en the faith of any who are perplexed with doubts and waver- 
ings ; if it shall be a means of recovering any from the snare 
of the fowler ere it be too late 1 if it shall glorify God, exalt 
and honor His truth, and lead any to prepare and wait for the 
day of the Church's redemption, when God shall bruise Satan 
under their feet, then the labor will not have been in vain in 
the Lord. 

That it may accomplish some good, and, in the workings of 
Divine Providence, bring forth some fruit to the good of man 
and the glory of God, is alike the prayer of the author and the 
editor. H. l. h. 

Peace Dale, E. I., June, 1856. 



SPIRITUALISM 



SATANIC DELUSION. 



CHAPTER L 

Jntro jtr ni: t io n . 

The object of the present investigation is, to ascertain 
the character of modern Spiritualism and its significance 
as a sign of the Times. 

This subject is one that presents to the mind of the 
thoughtful reader of the Word of God, and the careful ob- 
server of the workings of Satan in these last days, such a 
wide field for remark, that we scarcely know where to be- 
gin, what facts to select, or where to end, It is certain that 
we are now living in strange and eventful times. There 
are agencies at work in our world other than can be seen 
by the eye of man. But this has always been the case. — 
The facts in reference to the fall of man, and his redemption 
by Christ, show us most clearly, that there are opposing 
agencies at work in reference to his preaent and future state 
that are outside of himself; and that man is that most im- 
portent being who concentrates the thoughts of the whole in- 
visible world upon him. 

The educational training of some, and the manifest ig- 



10 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION, 

norance of others of the truths of the Bible, the only trae 
revelation of the will of God to man, hinder multitudes from 
admitting, in all their literality and distinctness, the state- 
ments of the Word of Grod on the subject of Spirit-agency^ 
In consequence of this, reasonings on this subject, the most 
false, puerile, and stupid, often pass at par for sound logic 
and good scriptural argument, provided they be clothed in 
the garb of scientific words and technical phraseology, the 
true meaning of which the people cannot comprehend, and 
one grand design of which is, in reality, to conceal the ig- 
norance of the men themselves, who attempt to explain what 
they do not understand, and who are, though unconscious to 
themselves, another illustration of the wonderful power of 
that influence, the very existence of which they so stoutly 
deny. 

There are many good men in our midst, highly gifted, and 
deservedly esteemed for their scientific researches and their 
patient investigation of the causes of things, who are bold 
to say that the phenomena of Modern Spiritualism, are mere 
optical illusions, or juggling tricks, and that all of them can 
easily be explained upon scientific principles, and are well 
understood by those who perform them. Yea, more ; boast- 
ing of their fancied wisdom and knowledge of things beyond 
their reach, they are not slow to say that to believe in the 
facts as they exist is a sad proof of a defective education, if 
not of imbecility of mind. But these persons, with more 
correctness, might say that the solutions which they and 
their philosophic expounders give of these latter day won- 
ders, ascribing them all to mere natural agents, as electricity, 
magnetism, odic force, and we know not what else, are still 
more striking illustrations of the very deficiency which they 
80 feelingly lament ia the case of others. 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

At all events, one thing is certain : those who hold that 
there is a spiritual agency in connection with these mani- 
festations, have a cause which is adequate to the production 
of these effects — yea, and, if need be, of others far more 
wonderful than any that have as yet been exhibited. They 
go to the Word of God for a clear and proper solution of 
all these pbenomena, and not to the mysterious workings of 
some hidden law of nature, nor to the teachings of an lufi- 
del or Atheistic Philosophy. 

The writers of the Sacred Scriptures nowhere attempt to 
prove the existence of God. Moses takes it for granted, 
and proceeds to state, in the first chapters of Genesis, what 
God has created. Nor do they attempt to prove the exis- 
tence of a Spiritual Being, whom they call in the Hebrew, 
Satan ; which means an opposer, a foe, an enemy. They 
speak of it as a fact that needs no proof; for the world is 
full of the evidences of his real, personal existence, and of 
his mighty power, and unremitted hatred of God and of man. 
We are fully aware of the fact that the personal existence 
of Satan is admitted by nearly all those who bear the Chris- 
tian name. It is at least among the articles of their faith. 
But by the great majority of professing Christians of the 
present day, it is so feebly realized, and so superficially re= 
garded, that their faith is, in a great degree, inoperative, and 
the fact of his existence, and influence upon the minds of 
the people, is virtually disbelieved. One striking difference 
between the experience of Christians, aa recorded in the 
New Testament, and the frequent exhortations of our Lord 
and his apostles to resist the Devil, and to guard against 
his wiles, and the experience of Christians of our day, and 
the exhortations we hear on the subject now, warning us 
not to be ignorant of his devices, must be manifest to every 



12 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELLS:JON, 

one who will give the subject a m: mentis reflection. They 
felt and acted as if there was a great and mighty adversary 
for them to oppose ; and they speak of their spiritual con- 
flicts with him ; but the wisdom and philosophy of our day 
have looked upon his existence as a myth, or at best, but 
another name for the wayward disposition of man. 

This, however, is not the scriptural representation of the 
matter. The Bible speaks of him as a mighty spirit, once 
holy, but now fallen through pride; as the deceiver of man ; 
as the usurper of the dominion of this world, and as the 
Prince of this world, and also of the power of the air, and 
the Spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience.— 
Through his influence and wiles, our first parents lost the 
image and the likeness of Grod in which they were created, 
and also the dominion over the earth which God h*ad be- 
stowed on man. Satan deposed man, and took his place. 
Since then he has not ceased to exert his influence over 
man ; to enslave his mind by gross superstitions ; to de- 
base and defile his body by vile afi'ections ; to shut him out 
of heaven by leaguing him in with himself in opposition to 
God. Accordingly we find that although the agent, Satan, 
is the same at all times, yet the mode of his operations dif- 
fers in difi*erent ages and among difi'erent people, according 
to the degree of their intellectual culture, or the amount 
of Scriptural truth and knowledge they might possess. 

The debasing and sensual rights of Paganism are well 
adapted to rivet the chains cf a spiritual bondage upon a 
people who have given up the knowledge of a true God, 
and who worship demons in His stead. But in an age like 
ours, where intellectualism and mammon are the gods to 
which the masses of the people bow in humble adoration, 
Satan must suit his wiles to the spirit of the age, and to the 



INTRODUCTION. 18 

character of the people, if he would succeed in leading them 
to bow down to their gods, in the temple of reason, and to 
ignore their Creator and the revelation he has given them. 
Hence it is that no special form of Satanic delusion con- 
tinues long at one time, or in one place. The Arch-Decei- 
ver continually varies his wiles. Old forms of spiritual 
delusion pass away ; but from their seeds other forms spring 
up, which are just as far from the truth as the former. — 
Each successive age or generation boasts of its freedom from 
the follies of the past, and laughs at the ignorance and su- 
perstition of their fathers, while it is itself the victim of 
those Satanic delusions which are more in accordance with 
the circumstances, advanced knowledge, or philosophic 
spirit of the age. And just as we change our garments and 
adapt them to the season of the year upon which we may 
enter, while our nature remains the same — so will it be 
with these varied exhibitions of Satanic power ; their forms 
differ, but their essential features are the same ; and these 
varied manifestations will continue to come and to go, un- 
til the kingdom of Satan, on earth, be overthrown, the reign 
of sin be superseded by that of holiness, and the kingdoms 
of this world become the kingdom of our Lrrd and of His 
Christ. 

As the sacred writers nowhere attempt to prove the per- 
sonal existence of Satan, but always take it for granted, 
(and base their exhortations to resist his power and influ- 
ence, upon the known fact of his existence and evil charac- 
ter,) we need not attempt it. Still, we might ask those 
who deny the personal existence of Satan, and maintain that 
we are to understand by the term only the evil principle, 
or the tendency to evil that exists in human nature, how 
they would explain, on their theory, the history of the fall 



14 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DEL SION. 

of man, and the subsequent temptation of our Lord ? In 
the case of Adam, or rather of the woman, (for she was 
first in the transgression, she being deceived, while " Adam 
was not deceived'' — 1. Tim. ii : 14 — but sinned under- 
standingly,) there was evidently an influence outside of her- 
self that was brought to bear upon her mind, so that she 
yielded to' it and fell — she was conscious of that fact — and 
said so : nor is the truth of her statement called in question 
by the Lord when she, in the honesty of her heart, confess- 
ed the truth, saying, "the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." 
The statement was admitted, in all its fullness, and upon 
that statement the Lord proceeds, at once, to pronounce 
His sentence upon the serpent, and which remains upon it, 
to the present day, and will till time shall end. The Judge 
of all the earth certainly does right. And if there were 
no tempter outside of woman, why should the Lord pro- 
nounce His curse upon her, and an additional one on a be- 
ing, distinct from her, if no such being did exist, and if he 
had not deceived her as she declared he did ? 

So also, in the case of our Lord. He had no sin. He 
was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. 
And yet He was tempted for forty days and forty nights 
in the wilderness of Judea. Demands were made of Him 
and proposals offered of such a character, as wholly to ex- 
clude the idea, (if we admit the record in the case to be 
true,) of these demands and praposals being the mere sug- 
gestions of our Lord's own mind. The thing is an impos- 
sibility. To suppose that the whole scene of the tempta- 
tion as described by the inspired penman was a mere stretch 
of the imagination of our Lord ; that He thought He was 
tempted by some one; that He thought the Tempter 
brought forth arguments based upon a false application of 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

the Scriptures to induce Him to yield to his suggestions ; 
and, that He thought He answered the Tempter by correct 
quotations from the Word of God, requires an amount of 
faith (if faith it may be called,) far surpassing any thing of 
the kind that is necessary to embrace the simple, truthful 
narration of the facts as they are. But it happens to be 
with such persons as it was with a Brahmin in India, who 
said to me once, '^ Sahib, a little truth is hard, but a big 
lie is easy to be believed." It is just so ; and we doubt 
not, that the father of lies assists them in their monstrous 
credulity as well as in their unreasonable unbelief. 

We admit the fact, then, in all its fullness, that there is 
such a being as Satan, and we fully believe all the state- 
ments that the Sacred Scriptures give of him, and of his 
workings in our world. Our Lord calls him " the Prince 
of this world," and the " god of this world ;" and he is. 
That he will, ere long, be deposed, and his usurped power 
will be taken from him, and he be cast out of this world, 
are facts clearly made known to us in the Word of God. 
He knows well that the kingdoms of this world will be 
taken from him, and that it will be done by Him who is 
*^ the seed of the woman." Hence it was that Satan offer- 
ed to deliver up to our Lord the kingdoms of the world, 
which he then held, and still holds by usurpation, if He, 
the Messiah, would but fall down and do him honor, or 
thank him for them, or even accept them from his hand. 
We give Satan full credit for honesty in this ease. Let 
him have his due. We believe he would have done just as 
he said he would do. He had the kingdoms of the world. 
He has them yet.* And he, doubtless, would have deliv- 

* For Satan to offer that which lie could not bestow, and over 



16 . SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

ered them to our Lord, and would have laid down the 
usurped sceptre of power over earth, if he could, by that 
act, have acquired a greater glory, and a more exalted 
sway. And who, in the matters of trade, and of seeking 
after the wealth and the honors of this world, would not 
part with the less for the sake of the greater ? So with 
Satan. The honor received from man, or from a world of 
men, would be as naught when compared with honor and 
obeisance from '' the Son of man." Most cheerfully would 
he have parted with all this world for one act of obeisance 
from our Lord. But, that he must not have. Satan was 
foiled in his deep-laid scheme for the final and eternal ruin 
of all the human race. No compromise in the case can be 
made with the Son of man, the rightful heir to earth, and 
all upon it. Satan will not resign his usurped authority 
and power on earth of his own free will, nor can the Son 
of man lay aside the glory and the dignity of His exalted 
nature and office, to enter upon any efforts of negociation 
with Satan for the redemption of the world from his power. 
On the contrary, He will in due time, lay hold on the usurp- 
er, bind him in chains, and cast him out of the govern- 
ments of this world for ever. 

Satan is fully aware of this fact. He knew when our 
Lord was upon the earth, that that was not the time for 

which he had no power, would be no temptation even to man^ 
much less to Christy who of course knew the fad?, in the case.— 
But Christ was really tempted — therefore Satan had something of 
value to offer to him, namely, the kingdoms of the world and their 
glory. Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, and do we 
not see in the allurements of worldly ambition that seduce the 
heart from right and godliness, this same temptation of the adver- 



INTRODUCT. ON. . 17 

his dethronement. But the time is now at hand. This he 
knows ; and hence it is that he is making special efiforts, in 
various ways, throughout the whole world, to retain his pos- 
session of the earth to the last moment, and to ruin for time 
and eternity all he can, before he himself shall be cast out, 
and be shut up in the bottomless pit for the thousand years. 

Paganism and the gross forms of heathen idolatry, are 
not adapted to our present enlightened and social state. — 
The scenes of iniquity that have been witnessed in the pub- 
lic assembly, or in the secret chambers of heathen temples, 
in days past, would be too much at present for the eye of 
the refined of our day. But similar scenes may be witness- 
ed, doubtless, even now, by those who are privileged to en- 
ter within the gates that shut them out from the vulgar 
gaze. It only needs another name : the name of *' Love," 
or " Love" made " free," and the sanction of laws which 
Satan himself has helped to frame, to give currency and 
popularity to any forms of iniquity that have ever yet found 
favor in the eyes of a world at enmity with God. Some 
can be led as the willing slaves of their lusts. For these 
there is a lure in the shape of Socialism, Free-love-ism, 
and Mormonism, that last form of political iniquity that has 
been enthroned in our land, and which if it receives not the 
sanction of this mighty nation, is permitted to grow unmo- 
lested, and to flourish in our midst, under the fostering care 
of Satan himself. 

But, there are others, whose instinctive horror of bodily 
defilement would separate them forever from those, who 
" corrupt themselves in those things which, as brute beasts, 
they know naturally" (Jude 10). These Satan must secure 
by other means. Reason is their god. To them, the rev- 
elations of the Most High are, at least, but enigmatical 



18 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION 

hints of things they cannot comprehend. For tl e god of this 
world hath blinded their minds, lest the light of the glorious 
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine in- 
to their hearts, and give them the light of the knowledge of 
the glory of Grod in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 4-6. 
They must hare certain knowledge, and such a knowledge 
of secret and future things, as Grod, in His infinite wisdom, 
withholds from man ; for he would have man '' walk by 
faith, not by sight," 2 Cor. v. 7. But, what God withholds, 
Satan offers to impart. They would lift the veil that hides 
the unseen world from them, and seek to know from those 
who inhabit it, the things which God has hidden from them, 
and purposes they shall not know. The knowledge of Sa- 
tan is not like ours. We can know nothing of the invisible 
world from our own observation. Satan can and does. — 
The invisible world is all untrodden ground to us. To him 
it is all known and familiar. He, doubtless, does and can 
know facts, and reveal them too, which it would gratify the 
curiosity of our nature to know. Facts, long since trans- 
pired, even before the birth of any now on earth, are not 
blotted out of the memory of Satan, who, we may suppose, 
retains all the knowledge he has ever had of our world for 
the past 6000 years. These facts he may communicate to 
man, (and none can prove that he cannot) ; and these facts 
being found to be true, the door is now opened wide for the 
full belief of any number, or any kind of real or supposed 
facts that Satan may see fit to communicate. The reality 
of one truth will pave the way for many falsehoods, all of 
which may be believed with equal faith. In this way, Satan 
will satisfy the minds of multitudes of the philosophically 
wise And as they judge they can find that knowledge 
in and through his commanications which they cannot 



INTRODUCTICN. 19 

obtain from the Word of God, the result is easily foreseen. 
They will reject the revelation which God has given them, 
as a work behind the age, and not meeting the demands of 
the times. If this be not so with those who now believe in 
the revelations that God has made to them in His Word, 
they will superadd to it these supposed revelations of facts 
by Satan, and thus will they virtually set aside the Word 
of God entirely as a rule of life. 

As it is certainly revealed to us, that Satan will be cast 
out from this world, and as his efforts will be made untir- 
ingly to retain his hold upon the minds of the people, we 
may reasonably look for some special manifestations of his 
power and delusive workings before that event. These 
manifestations and miraculous workings will be so apparent 
to all those, who are savingly enlightened by the Spirit of 
God, that they will not fail to perceive, in due time, that 
they are of Satanic origin. " They that trust in the Lord 
shall be," in these times of coming trial, " as Mount Zion 
which cannot be removed, but abideth forever," Ps. cxxv. 1. 
While those who may trust to their own fallible reasoning 
and the desires of their hearts, will be as the chaff before 
the wind, or as the stubble before the flame. 

By multitudes of Christians in our day, and of Christian 
ministers also, the study of the prophecies of God's Word 
is either neglected, or condemned. What God declares to 
be " a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn 
and the Day-Star arise" (2 Peter i. 19), they, in their pre- 
sumption have declared to be impenetrable obscurity. — 
Hence the utter misapprehension which so extensively pre- 
vails in the Church at the present time, as to the character 
and design and end of this dispensation. Peace, prosperity 
and stability are confidently predicted and fondly antioipa- 



20 

ted by the men of our progressive times, whereas conflict 
and destruction are distinctly foretold by the prophets of 
the Lord. And so intense is this deception, that, by ma- 
ny, the very workings of Satan are confounded with or 
taken for the operations of God's Spirit. They look for a 
coming glory and a brighter age for this world ; but it is 
not such as God predicts. They raise their superstructure, 
Babel-like, out of material which God purposes to destroy. 
There is a future glory in reserve for this world. But, 
it is not to be effected by the wisdom of man, the progressive 
development of the age, nor by a careful observance and 
study of the mere laws of nature. It will be the work of the 
Spirit and power of the Lord. 



CHAPTER 11. 
THEl CASE STATED. 

That we may the better understand the nature of these 
spiritual manifestations, which now exist in our world, and 
which will continue to increase, though they will, doubt- 
less, be varied in their form, until Satan himself, the grand 
originator of them all, shall be cast out of this world, it 
may be well to take a brief survey of his operations, in our 
world, from the fall of man to the present time. ^* To the 
law and to the testimony," the revealed will of God, let 
us then go for the true light that we need on this subject. 
If we speak not according to this word, it is because there 
IS no light in us. — Is. viii : 20. The opinions of Pagan, of 
Jewish, and of Christian writers on this subject, are not 
without their value. But our object is to look at this 
whole subject in the light which the inspired Word of Grod 
throws upon it. 

Taking then, in our hand, the inspired volume, the Word 
$f God, *^as a lamp to our path, and a light to our feet," 
let us enter the garden of Eden. There we find nature 
smiling in her garments of glory, as she was first robed by 
the hand of her all-wise and bountiful Creator. 

Creatures, formed by the Divine Word, and exhibiting at 
the same time, the wisdom, the goodness, and the power of 
God, dwelt in peace and harmony with each other. There 
was no ferocity in any nature. There was no enmity in 



22 



A SATANIC DELUSION 



any heart. Man, created in the image of God. and accord 
ing to His likeness, with his beloved and sinless companion 
by his side, the progenitor of the race of man on the earth, 
stood up in all the Godlike dignity of his nature, the install- 
ed king over earth and all the creatures that dwelt upon 
it. How long this primeval state of purity, of blessedness 
and of peace remained, we know not. On this point the 
Word of God sheds no light. We simply know the fact 
that man was sinless, and that he fell. 

Before the creation of man, a rebellion against the au- 
thority of God, broke out among the angels in the heavenly 
world. Satan led the way. Insolence, pride, ambition, a 
being puffed up (as the Greek word tuphotheis^ 1 Tim. ii. 16, 
signifies), in consequence, probably, of some exalted honor 
conferred upon him by his Creator, led to his sin. Multi- 
tudes must have united with him in his schemes and plans 
of rebellion against God, whatever they may have been. — 
But in their plans they failed. They lost the glory that 
they formerly possessed, and henceforth they were deprived 
of the favor of God, and were shut out from all communion 
with God, and with the holy angels. On the particular 
sin of Satan, and the precise time when he first transgress- 
ed, the Bible reveals nothing positive, and hence we cannot 
know with certainty, what it was, or when it took place. — 
The only thing we do know, is that it was before the fall 
of man, and that Satan was instrumental in that fall. This 
must satisfy us now. 

There is a great ana important fact here, which it may 
be well to consider a moment. It is one of those mysteries 
which we cannot now fully comprehend, but we may here- 
after. The fact is this : Although Satan and his angels 
are shut out from all communion and fellowship with God 



THE CASE STATED. 



and the holy aogels, still, they are not vhdly debarred 
from all communication with heaven and holy beings. The 
testimony of the Bible is clear on this point, though Chris- 
tians may seldom think of it, or if they do, may reject it 
without much thought. Twice in the book of Job, viz : 
chap. i. 6, and ii. 1, we are told that there was a day when 
the sons of God, the holy angels, came to present them- 
selves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them 
to present himself before the Lord. While there, the Lord 
spoke to him and asked him, " From whence comest thou ?" 
To which Satan replied, '^ From goin^ to and fro in the 
earth, and walking up and down in it." Or, as the Septua- 
gint renders it — " Having gone round the earth, and hav- 
ing walked over all that is under heaven, I am come hither." 

In 1 Kings xxii. 19, Micah, the prophet, saw the Lord 
sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing 
before Him, on His right hand and on His left. " And the 
Lord said, who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and 
fall at Ramoth-Gilead ? And one said on this manner, and 
another said on that manner. And there came forth a spir- 
it, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. 
And the Lord said unto him, wherewith ? And he said, I 
will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all 
his prophets. And He said, thou shalt persuade him, and 
prevail also ; go forth and do so." We would merely re- 
mark here, that Grod in scripturallanguage, is often said to 
do what he permits to be done. 

Again, Zechariah, the prophet, chap. iii. 1, " saw Joshua, 
the High Priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and 
Satan standing at His right hand to resist him. And the 
Lord said to Satan, the Lord reb'ike thee, 0, Satan." 

In Jude, verse 9, we read that " Michael, the Archangel, 



24 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body 
of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, 
(or, as the Greek might be read, did not pass judgment up- 
on him for blasphemy, but referred the case to the Lord,) 
saying, the Lord rebuke thee." 

Again, in Rev. xii, the same thing is brought to our view. 
There we are told that there is to be a war in heaven — Mi- 
chael and his angels fighting against Satan and his angels 
And the Dragon and his angels were cast out of heaven. — 
Their place was found no more in heaven. Satan, who de- 
ceived the whole world, was cast out into the earth, and 
his angels were cast out with him. Then it is, after Satan's 
complete expulsion from all access to the heavenly beiogs, 
and from his long held empire in the air, that we hear the 
heavenly hosts, who never sinned against Grod, and the ran- 
somed Church from earth, proclaiming with a loud voice in 
heaven, '^ now is come salvation and strength, and the king- 
dom of our God and the power of His Christ ; for the Ac- 
cuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them be- 
fore God day and night. Then there is rejoicing in heaven 
by the angels, and the ransomed Church ; but there is 
woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea, for the 
Devil is come down to the earth, having great wrath, for 
he hath but a short time then to remain upon it. 

Now, without attempting to enter into any critical ex- 
amination, or extended explanation of these passages 
already quoted, we learn from them several important facts, 
some of which we will here state. We learn, 

1. That Satan, and it may be evil spirits, are not wholly 
debarred from all communication with God, and the holy 
angels. It does not appear that they have anv intercourse 



THE CASE STATED. 25 

with them further than their coming in conflict with them 
and opposing them. 

2. That G-od still uses these evil spirits, as the instru- 
ments in His hands of punishing those who may reject his 
counsels, and that when they are permitted to afflict the 
good, it is never done unless God intends to bring out of 
the affliction a greater good to the afflicted, and glory to 
His own great name. 

3. That these evil spirits may take possession of men in 
the flesh, and control them as the lying spirit took posses- 
sion of the Prophets of Ahab, and thus deceived him, if 
God permit them to do so. 

4. That the power of these evil spirits will be more won- 
derfully displayed, and their rage against God and against 
His people and the inhabitants of our world, will be more 
malignant, immediately preceding the Millennial dispensa- 
tion of the church, than they have ever yet shewn them- 
selves to be. The reason of this seems to be that they 
will, then, have only men in the flesh to operate upon, and 
that, too, only for a short time before their final expulsion 
from the earth. They will be no more permitted to accuse 
the saints of the Lord before him. 

These remarks may open up a new train of thought to 
many readers of the Bible, and one which they may not 
have hitherto been disposed to look at, or to examine. — 
But it is time that God's people, yea, and the men of the 
world, in these latter days, should think more seriously on 
this subject. Satan has mighty power, and he will exert 
that power more and more as the day of his binding draws 
nigh. He will deceive all who dwell upon the earth to 
their final undoing if they flee not to Christ, as their only 
refuge. The exhortation^ of our Lord comes, therefore, 



26 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

with great force to every one, '' Watch ye, therefore, and 
pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape 
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand be- 
fore the Son of man." — Luke xxi : 36. 

But, to return from this digression to our first parents 
in the garden of Eden. 

Satan, failing in the object of his rebellion in heaven, 
came to earth and plotted the ruin of man. His plan was 
laid with consummate skill, and sad, indeed, to the world 
has been its success. Without entering now into any 
critical examination of the history of the fall of man, by 
the super-human wisdom of Satan, the facts themselves are 
plain enough for any one's comprehension. In carrying 
out his malicious design, Satan took possession of the body 
of an animal called the Nachash ; in our version, the ser- 
pent. This animal was more subtle than any beast of 
the field which the Lord God had made. He selected the 
very best instrument that was to be found, for the accom- 
plishment of his Satanic purposes. The animal either had 
the gift of speech originally from God, or when Satan took 
possession of its body, he spoke with an audible voice to 
the woman, and held a conversation with her through the 
medium of the animal. Her innocence of heart and purity 
of mind, or her ignorance, at that time, of the peculiar 
character of the animal, in its natural state, does not ap- 
pear to have excited in her the least degree of surprise in 
hearing the animal speak to her, apparently, in a human 
voice, and in a language that she could understand. Some 
of the ancient Rabbins maintained that the Nachash, 
which was more wise or artful than every wild beast (micoi 
chayath) of the field, was a creature of reason and under- 
standing, and that it was formed like a human being, and 



THE CASt STATED. 27 

not as a reptile, or snake, which the waters produced. — 
Moses arranges all the animals on earth in three classes, 
viz. : the Chayath^ the wild beasts; the Behaimath^ the 
tame beasts ; and the Remesh^ the creeping things. As 
the Nachash was more wise, prudent or crafty (Heb. gna- 
room) than all of the animals, they conclude that the ani- 
mal used was one of the ape tribe, a species of baboon. — 
The whole narrative accords better, they judge, with an 
animal of that description than with a mere reptile. And 
even now, in its degraded condition, it seems like a more 
fitting instrument for Satan than a mere reptile. But, 
leaving the particular nature and form of the animal out 
of the question for the present, all agree that Satan, in 
this plan of deception, concealed himself, and worked 
through the instrumentality of the 'Nachash^ whatever the 
animal may have been. , 

From this inspired narrative we learn the following 
facts, viz : 

1. That Satan did take possession of the body of an 
animal and kept it as long as he chose. 

2. That he did so control the animal thus possessed by 
him as to make it, for the time being, lose the distinctive 
character which belonged to it, and to assume, in appear- 
ance, at least, that which belongs to another being. 

3. That he did make an innocent and unfallen human 
being imagine that she held converse with an animal, while 
she actually was holding a conversation with Satan him- 
self. 

If he did so then, we are. certainly justified in the con- 
clusion that he can do so still, if God should permit him 
to exert his power in that way. For we have no reason 



28 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

to believe that Satan has less power, or craft, or malice 
now than he had then. 

In the history of Job we have another inspired account 
of the power of Satan and of his hatred towards the good 
of the human race, and of his intense desire to do evil be- 
yond what we may suppose he is ordinarily engaged in do- 
ing. From this account we learn the following additional 
facts, viz : 

1. That Satan prompts men to acts of robbery and mur- 
der. He stirred up the evil passions of the Sab cans, and 
caused them to attack the servants of Job as they were 
peacefully ploughing in their field. . They slew all the ser- 
vants but one, and carried away the oxen and the asses. 

2. He caused fire to fall from heaven, or rather he con- 
trolled the electricity which is in the clouds, causing the 
lightning to smite the servants who tended the sheep in 
the field, and killed all the sheep and all the men except 
one, who escaped to tell the sad news. Not only were the 
men and animals killed, but they were actually burned up. 
This is an efi'ect which is never produced by the mere 
stroke of lightning in our days ; or, if it be, it is exceed- 
ingly rare. 

3. After exciting the Chaldeans to carry off the camels, 
and to kill the servants who attended them, he raised a 
storm in the wilderness that blew down the house in which 
the ten children of Job were assembled, and slew them ail, 
and all the attendants on that occasion, except one, who 
was left tcr communicate the fact. 

4. He laid his hand upon the body of Job, and smote 
him with a sore disease, so that, in the anguish of his soul, 
he longed for death to be freed from the bodily sufferings 
he then endured. His flesh became loathsome to himself 



THE CASE STATED. 29 

His soul was scared with dreams, and terrified by visions 
and frightful appearance of horrid and unearthly things, 
BO that he preferred strangling and death to life. 

From this history we learn that, if God permit, Satan 
has power to control the winds and the electric fluid so as 
to overthrow dwellings, destroy property to any conceivable 
amount ; to take away the lives of men, and of animals ; 
to afflict the bodies of men with horrible diseases ; to ter- 
rify the mind by the presentation to the imagination and 
to the eye of horrid and revolting sights ; and to disturb 
the hours of sleep by harassing the mind with terrifying 
dreams, thus making life a burden, and forcing the unhappy 
sufferer to long for death, so as to be free from such tor- 
ment. It also gives us an idea of the belief of Job as re- 
gards the influence of these things upon man after death. 
It is evident that he looked upon death as a guarantee 
that he would be freed from the influence of Satan's power 
forever. But if death gave him no release, why should he 
long for it ? Satan is still the Prince of this world, and 
the Prince of the power of the air, and he still works in 
the hearts of the children of disobedience. 

Not to occupy the attention of the reader any longer 
with the instances of Satan's power, as recorded in the Old 
Testament, we pass to those of the New Testament. Here 
we have a true and faithful record also of some of the won- 
derful workings of Satan. It is not our design to cite all 
these cases as given us by the inspired writers, though 
that might be profitable, but only a few as mere specimens 
of the whole, to show that the same mind originates them 
all, though the manifestations may be different. ^ To any 
one, who is willing to receive the plain and unvarnished 
statements of the sacred writers, there can be no difficulty 



30 SPIRITUALISM, A SATAN J DELUSION. 

in accounting for all these wonders. Indeed, it requires 
no small amount of false reasoning to adduce even a plausi- 
ble argument to show that the direct agency of Satan was 
not employed in their production. 

Many suppose that the possessions in old times, were 
confined entirely to the Jewish people, and in a great de- 
gree to the times of our Lord. But this, certainly, is not 
the fact. They were found among the Gentiles also. The 
young woman, who had the spirit of Python (divination) as 
stated by Luke, Acts xvi : 1 1-20, was a Gentile. She 
was a Greek, and resided at Philippi, in Macedonia. We 
are sadly mistaken if we think that Satan has nothing to 
do with any body but the Jews. He has as warm friends, 
and as faithful servants, and as devout followers among 
the Gentiles as he ever had among the Jews. We do not 
think that the Gentiles need yield the palm to the Jews 
for fidelity to the cause of Satan. They certainly have 
nothing to lose in this respect, in comparison with their 
brethren. 

As to the demoniacs being more abundant in the days 
of our Lord's incarnation, than at any other time before, 
or after it, cannot be proved, though the learned Joseph 
Mede, in his sermon on John x : 20, suggests that it was 
so. (See his works, p. 28. Ed. 1772.) The frequent ac- 
counts we have in the gospels of the doings of evil spirits, 
during the time of our Lord's ministry in Judea, is not 
owing to the fact, that they were any more busy in de- 
ceiving the souls of men, and in injuring their bodies then 
than in former times ; but, it is owing to the fact, that we 
have there more recorded instances of the power of our 
Lord so signally displayed, in casting them out of men, 
women and children, than before, thus proving to the Jews^ 



EXISTENCE OF SATAN. 31 

as well as to the Gentiles, that He was the true Messiah, 
the seed of the woman, and the promised King of Israel. 
We have no reason to believe that Satan does not now 
possess the souls and bodies of men in our world just as 
much as ever he did. God certainly is no better pleased 
with the corrupt workings of the human hearty now than 
ever he was. And it will be a difficult thing to prove that 
the heart of the world, which is still at " enmity with God," 
is any more in love with holiness and purity and the glory 
of the Lord, than it was eighteen hundred years ago. Had 
we inspired information on this subject, we would, doubt- 
less, find that multitudes of persons are now under the 
direct teachings and control of Satan and of evil spirits ; 
and, that their conduct, which is in open violation of the 
laws of God, and of all the decencies and proprieties of life, 
and which is put down to the score of eccentricity of char- 
acter, where ignorance, brutality, or native depravity of 
heart, should be accredited to Satan, the master spirit that 
rules and controls his wretched subjects at his will. 

SATAN. 

Satan is a personal existence and not a mere principle. 
He is an angelic being whom God created good as He did 
all things. But he sinned against God, and was cast down 
from the high position he once occupied. It would seem 
that pride was his sin. — I Tim. iii. 6. But, how sinful 
feeling could first enter a holy heart we may never find 
out. The fact we do know. Satan did sin. What his 
name was before his sin we know not. This is his name 
since. 

The word Satan means an adversary, an opposer. It ig 
never found in the plural number, so that the sacred wri- 



32 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 



ter's ykablviedge Wt one Being of that name. He is 
styled by our Lord " The Prince of this world," (John 
xii : 3) ; by the Apostle, ^^ The Prince of the power of the 
air," (Ep. ii : 2) ; and by the Jews, " The Prince of the 
demons," (Matt, ix : 34). The Septuagint translate the 
word Satan by the word Didbolos^ which means an Ac- 
cuser^ a Slanderer. He is also called in the New Testa- 
ment by a variety of names, indicative of his character 
and conduct, as Accuser, Destroyer, Liar, Murderer, &c. 
Nor is it any slander to say that he justly deserves them 
all. 

The sacred writers and our Lord say there is a Devil, 
and but one. But, it is becoming the fashion now to deny 
his personal existence, to think that our Lord and the 
Apostles only spoke in accordance with the silly notions 
of those of their day, who supposed there was a being call- 
ed Satan or the Devil, and that they themselves did not 
really believe in his existence. This is surely a progres- 
sive age-— in unbelief of the word of God, at least, what- 
ever else may stand still. But the very fact that the per- 
sonal existence of Satan is denied by so many in our day, 
by many professing Christians, and a few who bear the 
name of ministers of Christ, as well as by those who deny 
the Word of God entirely, is to our mind one of the strong- 
est proofs of the personal existence of such an Arch-De- 
ceiver. This is one of what the Apostle calls '^ ta bathe 
tou Satana, the depths of Satan," (Rev. ii: 24). We can 
fully endorse the language of Dr. A. Clarke, who, speaking 
on the denial of Satan's existence, says : '' Satan knows 
well that they who deny his being will not be afraid of his 
power and influence ; will not watch against his wiles and 
devices ; will not pray to God for deliverance from the 



SATAN AND DEMONS. 33 

Evil One: will not expect him to be trampled down under 
their feet if he has no existence ; and, consequently, they 
will become an easy and unopposing prey to the enemy of 
their souls. By leading men to disbelieve and deny his 
existence, he throws them off their guard. He is then 
their complete master, and they are led captive by him at 
bis will. It is well known that among all those who make 
any profession of religion, those who deny the existence of 
the Devil, are they who pray little or none at all ; and 
are, apparently, as careless about the existence of God as 
they are about the being of the Devil. Duty to God is 
with them out of the question, for those who do not pray 
especially in private^ (and I never knew a devil-denier who 
did), have no religion of any kind (except the form) what- 
ever pretensions they may choose to make." 

One of the most striking proofs of the personal exist- 
ence of Satan, which our times afford us, is found in the 
fact, that he has so influenced the minds of multitudes in 
reference to his existence and doings, as to make them be- 
lieve that he does not exist ; and that the hosts of Demons 
or Evil Spirits, over whom Satan presides as Prince, are 
only the phantacies of the brain, some halucinatiou of mind. 
Could we have a stronger proof of the existence of a mind 
so mighty as to produce such results ? Surely we have 
need to pray " Deliver is from the Evil One, apo tou po- 
neroii?'' Matt, vi : 13. 

The word Uaimon^ m the New Testament, is usually 
rendered by one word Devil. But this is evidently im- 
proper, as it would lead us to believe that there are many 
devils, whereas there is and can be but one. And surely 
one is enough for any world ; yea, one too many. Daimon 
iu the New Testament always means an evil spirit, who is 



under Satan's control ; a Demon. Ere long Satan will be 
cast out from this world, and with him all the host of de- 
mons, or evil spirits, who fell with him and who are under 
his control ; then we shall have neither devil nor demon 
here. 

NEW TESTAMENT POSSESSIONS. 
In the gospels by Matt, viii : 28-33, Mark v : 1-16, and 
Luke viii : 26-36, we have a detailed account of two men 
who met our Lord when he came into the country of the 
Gergesenes, which lay on the east of the sea of Tiberias, in 
the land of Palestine. They were possessed with demons, 
daimonizomenoi. They had left the society of their friends 
and their homes, and took up their abode in the tombs. — 
These tombs [mnemaia) are very abundant in some parts 
of the Eastern world to this day. They are houses built 
over the graves of distinguished or wealthy persons by the 
governments of which they were honored members, or by 
their relatives. They are of different sizes and shapes. — ' 
Some of them are built square, others round, and from ten 
to thirty feet high. The most of those that are yet to be 
found in India were built by the Mohammedans. They 
are now used as dwellings or as stopping-places for travel- 
ers, being fitted up for these purposes. But formerly, no 
one dwelt in them — the friends of the deceased only visit- 
ing them occasionally as places of prayer. I have often 
lodged in these tombs while on missionary tours. We 
found them comfortable lodgings ; and to those who arQ 
fond of retirement, they afford an agreeable resting-place. 
These men who met our Lord had been lodging in these 
tombs. They were exceedingly fierce ; so much so that it 
, was dangerous for any person to pass by the place where 
they were. The people of the country had often bound 



THE DEMON. aC4 — A LEGION. 35 

them with chains and fetters of ordinary strength, but 
they broke their chains, tore off all their clothing, and 
escaped, " being driven by the demon into the wilderness 
or desert places." Not only would they injure others^ but 
they also injured themselves, cutting themselves with stones. 
No human power could subdue them. When they saw our 
Lord coming towards them they recognized him at once, 
and cried out in a loud voice, " Jesus, thou Son of God 
most High, what have we to do with thee? Art thou 
come hither to torment us before the time ? We adjure 
thee by God that thou torment us not." And Jesus 
asked him, saying, '^ What is thy name ?" And he said, 
" Legion ;" for many demons had entered into him. They 
then besought our Lord that he would not cast them out 
into the bottomless pit or abyss — eis ton abysson. — Luke 
viii : 31 ; Kev. xx : 3. , (The same Greek work is used in 
both these places) ; but that he would permit them to 
enter into the swine, some two thousand in number, that 
were feeding near the mountains a good way off. Our 
Lord commanded them to come out of the men, and giving 
them permission, they entered the swine, and so alarmed 
them that they all ran violently down a steep place into 
the sea, and were drowned. The men who kept the swine, i 
when they saw what had happened to them, were alarmed, ^ 
and fled into the city, telling everybody they met what h^d 
happened. Tn consequence of this news, the people, excited 
by curiosity, went out to see what had transpired. And 
when the people of the city saw the poor demoniac sitting 
at the feet of Jesus, clc thed with proper garments that 
had been furnished him, and in the possession of his right 
mind, they felt afraid. But when the people of the country 
round about came and learned from those who had wit- 



36 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

nessed the scene, they felt differently. They were also 
taken with great fear, but their covetousness got the better 
of their benevolence. They thought only of the swine; 
and if Jesus would let all the demons enter them, the 
hope of their gains would be gone. Hence, they besought 
him most earnestly to depart, and leave them the demons 
and their swine. I doubt if they ever prayed so fervently 
before. Jesus heard their prayers, and left the country. — 
But the people of the city felt differently, for the demoniacs, 
at least one of them, was sent back to his own home by 
our Lord, with the commission to show to the people what 
great things God had done for him. He did so ; and the 
people of the town who knew the poor possessed man, re- 
joiced with him in his deliverance. And when they heard 
that our Lord was about to return to the country, the people 
went out to meet him, and received him gladly. Such dis- 
plays of the power of God now in saving sinners, would in 
many cases meet with similar treatment. There are multi- 
tudes now who would greatly prefer that Jesus should de- 
part from their midst, rather than have him cast the evil 
spirits out of their neighbors, if by his doing so they should 
lose any of their swine or any of their unlawful gains. It 
is a blessed truth that all are not so. 

In the gospel of Mark i : 23-26, we have an account of 
a man who was in the synagogue of the Jews in Caper- 
naum, and who had an unclean spirit in him. (So these evil 
spirits do go to church sometimes.) When our Lord en- 
tered and began to expound the Word of God to the peo- 
ple, the man, or the spirit in him, cried out, saying, 
*' Let us alone. What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus 
of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us ? I know 
thee who thou art — the Holy One of God." " And Jesus 



A SPIRIT OF .^FIRMIT:. 37 

rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of bim. 
And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with 
a loud voice, he came out of him. The people were 
amazed, and said. What thing is this ? What new doctrine 
is this ? for with authority He commandeth even the un- 
clean spirits, and they do obey him." 

The Evangelist Luke, who was a physician also, records 
the case of a woman, a Jewess, who had been bowed down 
by what he calls a spirit of infirmity {pneuma astheneias.) 
This was a different kind of spirit from those who were 
called " unclean," or '^ dumb," or merely evil, though they 
all were evil. The mode by which this spirit afflicted her 
was, probably, by curving her spine. Such was the effect 
of his power on her, that she could not lift herself up for 
the space of eighteen years ! When our Lord saw her, 
he called her to him and said to her, " Woman, thou art 
loosed from thine infirmity !" And He laid hands on her, 
and she was made straight immediately, and glorified God. 
When the hypocritical ruler of the synagogue saw what 
had been done, he answered with indignation because the 
woman had been healed on the Sabbath day. Hypocrites 
are always great sticklers for forms and ceremonies, but 
pay very little regard to the soul and spirit of true reli- 
gion. Our Lord reproved this hypocrite, telling him that 
if he himself would, as an act of mercy, on the Sabbath 
loose his ox or his ass, and lead the animal to a watering 
place where it might slake its thirst and save its life, so 
ought this daughter of Alraham, whom Satan had bound 
for eighteen years^ be loosed from her bond on the Sabbath 
day,— Luke xiii : 11-17. 

All that we say, at present, in reference to this case, is 
that it argues little for Luke's medical knowledge if he 



SPIRITUALITY, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

mistook the case and the nature of the disease ; and as 
little for the veracity of our Lord if that disease and in- 
firmity had not been produced by an evil spirit. The 
binder is one thing and the bond is another ; they cannot 
be the same. 

There is but one case more of those recorded in the New 
Testament that I would refer to at present, and that is the 
case of that good woman, Mary Magdalene. The Evange- 
list Mark says that our Lord, after his resurrection, " ap- 
peared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast 
seven demons.'' — Mark xvi : 9. They were demons, not 
diseases. 

It is clear from this declaration that she had been 
greatly afflicted by evil spirits. Why this number took 
possession of her, the Bible does not say, and hence we do 
not know. There is, probably, no woman whose name is 
recorded in the Sacred Scriptures, whose character has 
been more slandered than that of Mary of Magdala. There 
seems to have been a special effort made to make her char- 
acter so surpassingly vile, that the contrast in her conver- 
sion might be so much the greater, and that Grod thereby 
might get the greater glory. But the opinion that she 
was possessed by seven demons " on account of her wicked- 
ness," as Ambrose and Jansenius affirm, is without the 
least foundation in truth. She was no more to be blamed 
for being possessed by seven demons, than the man was out 
of whom a legion (five thousand) were cast, or the child 
who was possessed by but one. Jerome speaks favorably 
of her character and standing before her conversion. The 
probability is that she was a lady of great respectability 
and wealth in Galilee before her conversion, and that after 
it she was, next to the mother of Jesus, the most highly 



MODERN MANIFESTATIONS. 39 

favored of women, for she was the first herald of \ risen 
Kodeemer. Andricomius says that '^ Magdalum was the 
castle of Mary Magdalene, where she was born and where 
she was healed." But it is the fashion for Protestants and 
Romanists to defame her character, and they will do it. — 
But surely it is bad enough to have her afflicted by seven 
real demons without being reproached for what she could 
not help, and charged with being what she was not. It is 
a pity that ^o many Christians allow themselves so easily 
to fall into sentiments based upon the loose remark of some 
old father in the church, who was probably no better than 
he ought to be in the very things he charges upon the in- 
nocent. When will the day come when the dogmas of men 
will be wholly set aside, and the Word of the Lord alone 
shall be the basis of thought and feeling, of word and of 
act ? Lord, hasten the blissful day ! 

MODERN MANIFESTATIONS. 

We enter now upon a most interesting part of our sub- 
ject, viz; the consideration of spirit manifestations, as 
they are now witnessed in this land or in others. And here 
we must rely,, in a great degree, upon the eyes and ears of 
others ; for we have ourselves seen but few, comparatively 
speaking, of the many things that these spirits have done, 
and are yet doing in the midst of us. We have no dispo- 
sition to call in question any of the facts which have been 
carefully and properly reported. Nor do we think that 
those who affirm that they have witnessed the phenomena 
which they describe, are mistaken, and that their senses of 
seeing, hearing and feeling have all deceived them. We 
cannot believe that they wcjuld affirm for truths, what they 
know to be false. It cannot be ; for many of these witnes- 



40 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

ses are pei-^ODs of undoubted veracity. They are men who 
would sc6rii to tell a lie on any account ; and surely they 
could have no motive arising from worldly gain or appro- 
bation to do so. They are men of good sense, of sound and 
sane minds. Men of good judgment; men who can dis- 
criminate, as well as any others, between the true and the 
false ; mea who are in no way inferior to those around them, 
and whose testimony in a court of justice, on all subjects 
of which they have any personal knowledge, would be ta- 
keu without the least hesitation. All this we say because 
we believe it. Among those who have witnessed these phe- 
nomena, are men in all the walks of life ; men of science and 
of learning, physicians, judges, ministers, merchants, men 
of business in all the avocations of life, sober and sedate, as 
well as those who are of more excitable or enthusiastic tem- 
perament of mind. Surely, it cannot be that all these per- 
sons have been deceived as to all they have seen and heard. 
If the whole has been a mere trick, and if all these persons 
have been led to acknowledge phantasies for facts, then the 
wonder is a greater one still than that concerning which 
they testify. 

There are, no doubt, many who, for the sake of gain, en- 
deavor to impose upon the more credulous among the people, 
by base imitations of these phenomena. But the cheat can 
easily be detected by those who seek for the truth in the 
case. And the very fact itself that some attempt to imitate 
these wonders, proves that they are realities in the true 
sense of the word. Among those who claim a no higher 
character than that of mere mimics in these matters, we 
apprehend that there are none whose name or standing in 
society, would entitle them to any respect from others, while 
they have none from themselves. They are soon among the 



MANIFESTATIONS IN INDIA. 41 

things that were. They even fall beneath contempt. They 
soon are out of mind. 

But that persons of hitherto known respectability of char- 
acter, of amiable dispositions, of moral worth, and of a 
godly life, and the firm believers in the truths of revelation, 
should suddenly rise up and proclaim to the world that 
things were done through them by a power outside of them- 
selves, and in opposition to their own choice or will in the 
case, while at the same time, they attempted to practice 
deception upon the community, whose ears and eyes and 
senses were all awake to expose the cheat, if it be a cheat, 
and then demand of us faith in the reality of the things 
done, is asking of us a larger amount of faith than- would 
be necessary to believe all the ghost-stories that have ever 
been published to the world since there was a pen to record 
them till now. Making all due allowance, then, for those 
who will lie, yet there are so many persons, both old and 
, young, who cannot be deceived themselves, and who cannot 
possibly be attempting to deceive others, and who testify in 
the honesty of their hearts, to things they have heard and 
seen, we hesitate not to admit fully and freely the reality 
of all, each and every fact they state. The facts themselves 
however are one thing; the true explanation of them is an- 
other, and a very different thing. We seek the truth, and 
if we find it, we shall not fear to proclaim it; for " Truth 
is mighty, and must prevail." 

A SCENE IN INDIA. 

There are a few things which have come under our own 
observation, in connection with this subject, which we 
would now state. As to the facts themselves, we know 



42 SPIRITUALISM, A A.TANIC DELUSION. 

that we were not deceived. Our explanation of them we 
shall give hereafter. 

On the evening of Feb. 9th, 1834, about 6 o'clock, while 
standing in the door of Mr. Ropers' house in Aurungabad, 
India, I saw a crowd of people going towards a small 
Hindoo temple, which was in sight, and near at hand. On 
enquiry, I found that they were going to offer up two lambs 
in sacrifice to the god Vetal, the king of the demons, or in 
other words, to the Devil. In company with Mr. Roper 
and another gentleman, we followed the crowd. There 
were some forty persons in all, including the women and 
children. It was a family sacrifice, and was to be offered 
in fulfillment of a vow. A few persons playing on instru- 
ments of music, such as are used on these occasions, led 
the way. Then followed two men bringing the lambs for 
sacrifice. The one was carried on the shoulders of one of 
the men : the other was led. Both of them were decorated 
with garlands of flowers. After these followed a person, 
carrying the sacred fire, and next in order the families 
concerned. When they arrived at the temple, which was 
a small building, some twelve or fifteen feet square, the 
people bowed down before the idol, which was within and 
opposite the door, and then walked round the temple 
twice. A lamp was then lit from the sacred fire and 
placed in the temple immediately before the idol. The 
person who officiated on this occasion was a priestess, with 
a wild look, disheveled hair, and with garments that needed 
washing. Her dress was the usual dress of the Hindoo 
women in that part of the country, viz., the cholee, or body 
dress, a kind of spencer, the sleeves reaching only to the 
elbows , and the loogurda, a garment wrapped round the 
waist and extending: below the knee. On the left sleeve 



MANIFESTATIONS IN INDIA. 43 

of her dress, small patches of red flannel Lad been !i«€wed 
to represent the small-pox, which she professed to be able 
to cure. She was assisted by a man, the counter-part of 
herself in appearance. The priestess then marked the fore- 
heads of all the people with red paint, such as was on the 
idol. Having washed her hands in clean water, she took 
a handful of the small branches of the kurdoonimb^ the 
bitter-lime-tree, and tied them together in the form of a 
broom. This she held in her hand while her assistant 
poured upon it a vessel full of water. While engaged in 
washing these branches she continued to mutter something 
in a low and rapid tone of voice, which no one could dis- 
tinctly hear, and to which no one seemed to pay any at- 
tention. This being over, she ordered her assistant to 
wash the head and forelegs of one of the lambs with water, 
into which she had thrown some salt and some of those 
bitter leaves. The head of the lamb was next marked with 
the red paint. Some of the bitter leaves and salt were 
given it to eat, but it refused them. Its mouth was open- 
ed and some of the salt and water and another fluid, (but 
what I could not learn,) were forced down its throat. This 
seemed to stupify the animal, so that being let loose, it 
staggered about among the people. After a few minutes, 
one of the company gave it a gentle tap on the side of the 
head, which caused it to turn its face towards the door of 
the temple. As soon as this was done, the sacrifieer seized 
it, threw it forcibly on its left side, the head being towards 
the door, and immediately cut off its head and the right 
leg at the knee. These were moved up and down before 
the idol, and then placed before the door of the temple. 
When the lamb had ceased to move, it was dragged to one 
side, where it was left. All this time the priestess stood 



44 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

by and was muttering something to herself. She now 
stepped forward to the blood, holding the little bundle of 
branches over it in her hand, and while the sacrificer pour- 
ed water on it, she sopped it in the water and the blood, 
and proceeded to sprinkle all the people in the blood of 
the sacrifice, having first sprinkled the idol and the door- 
posts of the temple. When she came to us, as we stood at 
the end of the semi-circle of the crowd, she stopped and 
frowned, as if considering whether to sprinkle us or not. 
Then going to the door of the temple, she stood gazing in 
upon the idol, and while she continued her muttering, the 
brush dropped from her hand. She started back, and in 
a frantic-like manner began to jump and scream and pull 
her hair. On a sudden she was seized with trembling 
through her whole body — her arms were extended— her 
mouth was wide open, and her eyes rolled from side to side. 
Again she jumped, and groaned, and raved, and screamed, 
and finally was thrown back full length as if lifeless to the 
ground. Her fall was broken by two of the women pre- 
sent, who sprang forward and broke her fall, which, if they 
had not done, it seems to me, it would have knocked her 
own or some other spirit out of her, and brought her to 
her senses ; or, at least, must have injured her much. 
After lying on the ground stretched out for some time ap- 
parently lifeless and stiff, she began to move, rose up slow- 
ly and gradually, and resumed her former appearance. She 
then addressed the people and told them that the god had 
accepted their sacrifice. This being ended, one of the 
company paid her a few jozce (a small copper coin less than 
the value of our cent,) for her services ; the musicians 
struck up their music ; the company formed in a line and 
returned back to thp.ir homes. 



MANIFESTATIONS IN INDIA. 45 

Finding the old lady pretty calm in mind, \nd looking 
intently at the money she had just received, I approached 
her, and began to enquire about the sacrifice and the 
meaning of what I had witnessed. But, whether she 
thought that our design was to injure her, or in some way 
to molest her, we know not ; she kept silent ; and when 
urged to speak, she began to whine, and pretended to be 
afraid of us, as perhaps she was. Gaining no informa- 
tion from her, we left her. From the assistant we merely 
learned the additional fact that, while the god was pleased 
with the honor conferred on it, so were they with what 
they had received, two lambs and some money. 

I need hardly say that the whole scene interested me ex- 
ceedingly at the time. The fact that the lambs were with- 
out blemish ; that they were brought to the door of the 
temple (their tabernacle) ; that salt and bitter herbs were 
used ; that the head and foreleg were waved before the idol ; 
that the idol, the doorposts of the temple, and the people, 
were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice ; and that the 
lambs were left for the use of the priestess, and the atten- 
dants on the temple — all tended to show that sacrifices, as 
they now exist among the Hindoos, must have had their 
origin in imitation of those appointed by the Lord and 
practiced by Israel. 

But in reference to this whole matter, and especially the 
ravings and the contortions and convulsions of the possess- 
ed, I would say, that the universal opinion of the people 
is, that they are wholly involuntary on their part. Their 
idea is that the god, which they say dwells in or near the 
idol, and to which the sacrifice is offered, and which, as in the 
present case, comes out of the idol and takes possession of 
the woman, through her speaks to the people, giving them 



46 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 



the information they may need. The Hindoos fully believe 
that the god which is a demon or evil spirit, does take pos- 
session of the bodies of individuals. Whatever the person 
may do in that state of frenzy, is considered as the act of the 
god, and not of the person possessed. That the Devil does 
now, at times, possess people, is the firm faith of all the 
Mohammedan population. The Hindoos believe that the 
same effects are produced by their Rackshus^ or evil spirits. 
The priests have their fixed rules, by which they profess to 
determine the question whether the possession be a real one 
or not. If it be real, according to their rules, then the per- 
son thus possessed, may be worshipped for the time being 
as the god itself. They do oftentimes worship the Devil. 
They pray to him, they ask him to take possession of them. 
And is it unreasonable to suppose that their prayers in this 
matter may be answered ? That there is any trick on the 
part of these possessed ones, seems to be impossible. The 
natives who look on give them credit for honesty, at least, 
in the matter; and those who are Christians, who have wit- 
nessed them, so far as I have known their views, agree in 
the fact that they are veritable'possessions. Probably every 
missionary in India has witnessed something of the same 
kind. The reader will find a short and interesting article 
on the subject in Rev. Dr. Allen's work on ^'India, Ancient 
and Modern," p. 384. 

In conversing recently with a missionary from India, he 
mentioned two instances of demoniacal possessions which 
came under his own observation. One was that of a boy 
in one of the schools at Bombay. While the missionary 
was in the school, and giving instruction to the youth as- 
sembled, one of the lads was seized and thrown down upon 
the floor : he began to groan, and foam at the mouth, and 



HINDOO CHILDREN AND CONVERTS. 47 

was thrown about in a most singular manner. The mis- 
sionary went towards him to raise him up. The boys cried 
out, ^* Bhootagrust, Sahib;" that is, "He is possessed." 
After some time, they carried him home. 

One of the Hindoo converts, before her conversion, had 
been grievously tormented by the demons. After she had 
become a Christian, and had united herself to the church, 
one of her acquaintance asked her if the " Bhoots," the de- 
mons, troubled her now. She replied, "' I believe now in Je- 
sus, and they don't come near me any more." 

Now, whatever others may think on the subject, one thing 
is certain, she really believed that she had been, and that, 
too, for years tormented by demons ; and it is presumed 
that she should know; but after she had embraced the 
truth, as it is in Christ, and placed her hopes and trust in 
Him, the evil spirits left her. We have her views of her 
own case. Was she mistaken ? Are we sure she was not 
right as to what had been the matter with her ? 

As to the boys in the school, they had no doubt of the 
fact that their young companion was possessed by a demon. 
We state these cases merely to show what the opinion of the 
people is on this subject. Others may attribute it all to 
the effect of imagination, or to simple disease. But can 
they prove that that disordered imagination, or that disease 
by which the person may be afflicted, is not itself the pro- 
duction of an evil spirit ? But of this we will speak again. 

It is evident from the statements of travelers from the 
various parts of the heathen world, that the belief in 
spirits, distinct from man in the flesh, is, generally speak- 
ing, prevalent among the people. Not only do the people 
believe that they do exist, but these spirits can also take 
possession of the bodies of men. There may be, and doubt- 



48 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELISION. 

less is, much superstition connected with the faith of the 
people on these subjects; but still, their faith has its 
foundation in truth. The Old and New Testament writers 
speak of the existence of such evil spirits and influences, 
and we have no reason to think that they have yet been 
wholly expelled from the abodes of men. 

The Rev. Joseph Wolff, the missionary to the Jews, and 
of world-wide fame, in his published account of his travels 
through Bokhara, Affghanistan, and India, gives us the 
views of the people of Cashmere and others on the subject, 
and also his own. He was charged by Lieut. Burnes with 
having cast a demon out of some godless Mohammedan 
somewhere near Cabool, and this was considered proof 
positive that the honored missionary was insane. When 
Mr. Wolff was with me in Philadelphia, I asked him par- 
ticularly about the matter. The account he gave me was 
substantially this : He said that one evening while sitting 
in a tent with some Mohammedans and others, and dis- 
cussing subjects in reference to the character of Jesus of 
Nazareth, and the plan of salvation by him, a Mohamme- 
dan cried out and interrupted their conversation by such 
unearthly groanings, and language and actions, that being 
fully convinced that he was possessed by an evil spirit, Mr. 
W. turned to him, and fixing his eyes upon him, said, '' In 
the name of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, I 
command thee to be silent 1" and immediately the man 
was silent. He became calm, and continued so during the 
remainder of the interview. Others may form their own 
opinion of the matter, but the united opinion of Mr. W. 
and the company with him was, that the man was a demo- 
niac, and just such as we read of in the New Testament. — 
We may be mistaken, but we think it will be found that 



WITCHCRAFT. 49 

the most of our Christian missionaries who have labored 
for any length of time in any part of the heathen World, 
have witnessed such scenes as correspond very well with 
the scriptural account of demoniacal possessions. And if 
they are not in reality demoniacal possessions, which the 
people themselves believe they are, it will be difficult to 
account for them on any other theory. 

^VITOHORAFT. 

Since the entrance of the Evil One into our world, the 
evidences of his power and evil workings are abundant. — 
In every land you find them. They are in every age, and 
among all nations. None are exempt. Our own country 
has not escaped. Satan does not need the assistance of 
steam power to transport himself or his angels from one 
land to another. He visited America long before the in- 
troduction of machinery, by which our sluggish bodies may 
be carried from place to place. He is the Prince of the 
povver of the air — and although not omnipresent nor om- 
niscient, yet he has agencies constantly at work, so that 
his influence is felt, and constantly too, throughout the 
world. 

There are but few in our country now who have not read 
or beard something of the cruel hunt after witches and 
wizards (or, in the improved language of the presen^t day, 
7nediujns) in England, Scotland, Sweden, and America, 
from the year 1640 down to 1692, or later, and of the sad 
results of that movement, both here and there. After two 
hundred years have rolled away, we of this day may sup- 
pose that we understand these matters better than the 
learned of that day. Perhaps we do. But after all, caii 
we give a satisfactory solution of those sad operations 



50 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

wittout referring them, at least in some degree, to sometliing 
more than mere wild imaginings or unrestrained fanati- 
cism? We are astonished now to see the names of the 
great men of that age, in all those countries and here also, 
judges, governors, jurors, ministers, and people, learned 
and influential, all uniting in condemning to death, hang- 
ing, drowning, and torturing men, but especially helpless 
women and children, because the people believed that they 
were under the influence of Satan ; and some of them, to 
save their lives, by confession, declared they were. It is 
truly sad to think of the cold-blooded and deliberate mur- 
ders that were then committed under the sanction of law, 
and for the honor, as they thought, of the religion of Jesus, 
that proclaims peace and good will to men. We fully be- 
lieve the testimony of Scripture in reference to the wicked- 
ness of the heart of man by nature. But bad as the human 
heart is, we do not believe that it is so bad as to act, as we 
know it did during that reign of witch-terror, without aid and 
assistance from without — even from Satan himself. We 
doubt not that many of those unhappy victims were under 
Satanic influence, and that too, like the poor demoniacs 
of old, without any will or wish of their own. But we 
also believe, and have fully as much evidence, if not more 
in the case, that the judges and jurors, the ministers and 
the people, who engaged in that unrighteous work of con- 
demning and executing so many of their fellow-beings, 
were themselves under the direct influence of the Devil. — 
They had the power in their own hands ; and hence, 
they saved their own lives. Satan raised the storm, and 
kept it up and controlled it so as to accomplish the 
object he had in view, namely, the ruin of many, and the 
bringing a reproach upon the religion of Christ, through 



WITCHCRAFT. 5- 

Its professed adherents, whom he himself had possessed. 
If there be guiltiness in the matter, and no doubt there is, 
we judge it is not to be chargeable so much to those who 
were involuntarily the subjects of those delusions as to 
those who lent themselves, as the willing servants of Satan, 
for the time being, in persecuting and killing those who 
needed rather their prayers and their sympathies, and es- 
pecially deliverance from the power of the Devil by the 
grace of God. 

At the present time, we have in this country the mani- 
festations of Satanic influence, which are neither '^ few nor 
far between." They may be arranged under two general 
classes, viz. : 

1. Those which are more immediately connected with 
the moving of material objects ; and — 

2. Those which exhibit a mind in connection with them, 
and controlling them. 

As to the first of these — viz., the movements of material 
objects — we have published accounts of them, which, if 
particular cases be necessary, are sufficient to satisfy any 
reasonable mind of their reality ; for we have them in any 
reasonable quantity and variety. 

Having already stated that we have no reason to call in 
question the truth of many of these published accounts, as 
to the facts themselves, we hesitate not to refer to them as 
facts. As to the explanation of those facts, we express no 
opinion here : we reserve that for another place. 

Taking then the statements which are given us by mul- 
titudes of individuals over their own signitures, and whose 
testimony we do not venture to question, we have the move- 
jnent of tables by persons laying their hands upon them, 
and rappings, and noises in any conceivable quantity. So 



52 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

far as we learn, the mode of operation is this. A few sit 
at a table, one of whom must be a medium ; that is, if we 
understand the term, a connecting link between the visible 
and invisible ; and one, through whom the invisible agent 
may work. They lay their hands upon it ; they sit in 
silence, and in due time the table begins to move. At 
first the table was spoken to as an intelligent being, and 
asked sundry questions, according to the fancy of the ques- 
tioner. These would be answered by tilting up and down. 
One tilt is no ; two are doubtful, and three are yes. The 
table was then asked to stand on one foot, and it would do 
so ; to walk about, and to answer all sorts of questions. 
All of which, whether the answers were right or wrong, 
seemed to please the operators, and the spectators much 
Afterwards the questions were put, and are now put, when 
these things are done, to the invisible agent who, it is said, 
moves the table. The form now is — " Will the spirit tell 
us ;" or, if a name be given, '' Will M. or N. answer our 
question ?" So that now the intercourse is held between 
the living, and the invisible, through a mere table. It was 
said at first, by nearly all, and by many yet, that all this 
is the effect of electricity, or of the operation of one of the 
minds present. 

But here is a table on which no hands are laid. It is 
requested to rise, or the spirits are requested to raise it up 
for the gratification of those present. It does rise, and 
does remain suspended in the air. No hand touches it ; 
no trick has done it. But it is done. Here, so far as 
human eyes can see, the laws of gravitation are suspended, 
or in some way overcome, so that the table does remain 
b'uspended in the air. Does electricity or magnetism all^o 
do that ? What law of n'iture is there, so far as we know 



TABLE TIPPING. 63 

them by the observance of which any one, or any number 
of men can, by the mere force of their will, order a table 
to rise and remain suspended in the air, and it will obey 
them? 

But, this is not all. Not only are tables moved, and 
other portions of matter lifted up, and moved about and 
are broken to pieces ; persons are lifted up without any 
visible agency, and are carried bodily from one room to 
another, and from place to place : persons unskilled in 
music, even little children, have played well and skillfully 
on instruments of music without having learned a note, 
and the instruments themselves have played while no hand 
touched them ; hands have appeared writing on walls ; 
they have been felt ; some of them apparently warm and 
others cold to the touch ; persons have been seized and 
shaken, and their garments torn ; they have been tossed 
about ; the form of bodies known to be long dead have 
been made to appear ; secrets have been revealed and facts 
have been made known, which were beyond the reach of 
man to find out : friends have been represented as coming 
back from the invisible world, and holding converse with 
the living, some times speaking words of comfort, and at 
others words of warning, in many cases words of truth, and 
in others words of falsehood. 

A friend of mine in whose eye-sight and statements I 
have every confidence, states the following facts among 
others. 

One day happening to pass by the door of a friend, he 
called him to him; after the usual salutations of the day, 
the following conversation in substance passed between 
them — 

" Have you witnessed any of these table-tippings which 



54 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

are talked about so much ?" (they had just begun to be 
known in Philadelphia then.) 

^' We know but little about them," he replied. 

^^ We can turn the tables in our house — our little daugh- 
ter can do it easily ; but we can't do it without her : come 
in and see." 

They went in, and in due time were seated in an upper 
room. The father, mother, and little daughter, some fourteen 
years of age, sat by the little table. Their hands were laid 
upon it. All looked on. After a few minutes, sure enough 
the table tipped up. The father then asked, how many 
persons are there in the room ; how many windows are 
there to the room : a coin was held out in the closed hand 
— the kind and date were asked, also the several ages of the 
persons present ; to all these the answers were correct. It 
was then suggested, perhaps the little girl can write also. 
A pencil was placed in her hand, and soon it began to 
move. Several questions were asked her, and answers 
were given which seemed to gratify the father and interest 
him very much. Finally the question was put, '^ who 
moves her hand ?" Immediately, in large distinct letters, 
she wrote the word *' Devil." When she lifted up her 
pencil and saw the word she had written, she dropped the 
pencil, and a shudder passed over her that shook her whole 
frame. She evidently felt afraid, and her pareots were 
silent. They looked amazed. At length the father said. 
^*I guess we had better stop now." That ended the in- 
terview. But, the conclusion that our friend drew from 
what he saw was, that there must have been a mind dif- 
ferent from any one then present, controlling her hand, for 
no one had suggested that name, and surely the little girl 



A MANIFESTATION. 55 

herself had not intended to write the word. What led her 
to do it ? That is the question. 

On another occasion, the same friend was walking down 
one of our streets, and seeing a small second hand book- 
store, he stepped in to look at the odd volumes that were 
there. He saw among them a work on Spiritualism, which 
led him to make a remark on the subject of the book. 
This led to a conversation with the bookseller on the sub- 
ject. In the course of conversation, he said there was a 
lady then in his house, who did some strange things. He 
immediately left the store and called her. She came into 
the store and sat down on a chair near the counter. He 
gave her an alphabetical card. She laid it down before 
her, and placed her hands upon it. Her eyes soon closed. 
She then bandaged her eyes, and reversed the card. He 
asked her sundry questions. Her hand immediately was 
shaken violently, and she rapidly spelled out an answer 
to each question, by placing the fore finger upon each let- 
ter in regular order. After the experiments were over, 
the lady was asked what she thought about the whole 
matter. She replied, that she did not know what to think 
about it. The influence came upon her suddenl}^, about a 
year ago — her hand is moved against her will, and she 
has no knowledge of what she has spelled out, or the 
meaning of any thing done unless it be told her by those 
who may witness it. 

Our friend was perfectly satisfied that the lady, (who is 
married and a mother), was honest in all that she said. 
She makes no gain by it. The whole thing is strange to 
her, she cannot account for it, and only when among her 
friends, does she now submit to have her hand moved for 
the gratification of others. He is of the opinion that there 



56 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

is a mind different from hers, that controls her Land oa 
these occasions. 

We would mention but one more case which our friend 
witnessed. It was this : In company with another friend, 
he went to see a person who it is said becomes entranced 
(we think that is the term used.) Having entered the 
house, they were conducted to an upper room where the 
lady and her mother were. A small table was brought out 
and placed in the middle of the room, and she and they sat 
near it. She laid her hands upon it, and then asked if 
there were any spirits present. The answer was, Yes. — 
Are they good ? Yes. To what sphere do you belong ? 
The sixth. Will you take possession of the medium ? Yes. 
How soon ? In three minutes. 

All now was quiet. In a minute's time her eyes closed , 
her arms began to twitch ; her whole body began to be 
agitated ; her face was contorted ; she moaned, and a pe- 
culiar sensation was produced about the neck and throat, 
as if swallowing something ; her hands became perfectly 
rigid, and her arms were stretched out. In three minutes- 
time her muscles relaxed ; she was again calm and com- 
posed, and spake out, saying, " I am happy." It was 
asked, '' Who are you ?" " I am Sarah J. I lived in 
Ohio, and died six years ago. I was a member of the 
church ; I lived a Christian life ; I am progressing rapid- 
ly." To various questions proposed to her, she said she 
believed in Jesus as she did while on earth, but in many 
things her views were changed. There was punishment 
there for the bad, but all might make an atonement for their 
sins by suffering; and all would finally enter higher, and 
happier spheres. Some were a long time in getting out 
of the lower ones, which were places of torment. She said 



A POSSESSION. 57 

she saw the wicked a great way off ; they were c^aarreling 
with each other, and some evil one was taunting them. 
She felt happy in being able to come back and tell to others 
her joy and her peace. She had but a short time to stay ; she 
must go. A pause ensued, the twitching again returned, 
and a slight moan or two was heard, and she opened her eyes. 

On inquiring if she knew what she had been speaking 
about, she said. No ; she had no knowledge of it whatever. 
She felt no pain from the spasms or the proce^is of the pos- 
session. 

Shortly after the influence came upon her again, and she 
passed through a similar process. Finally, while sitting 
calmly with her hands on the table, she asked if there were 
any spirits present who would take possession of her. The 
table gave three violent raps. Her mother, who sat by, 
said, '' That's a bad spirit ;" and seemed unwilling that 
her daughter should be made the subject of its control. — 
But she wished it. Immediately she was most violently 
shaken, and gave several deep groans, and her features 
were much contcirted ; her whole countenance was changed. 
In a moment more she spoke out : " Oh, cursed passion ! 
He provoked me to do it !" " Who are you ?" ^' I am the 
murderer of Parkman. Oh, oh ! I did it ;" and she 
shuddered all over. '' What did you do it for ?" " He kept 
asking me for the money.'' ^' Did you hate him ?" " No; 
I had no intention of doing: it until he came and asked me 
again for it. Oh, oh ! I killed him." " Where did you 
strike him ?" " Oh, here," laying her band on the back 
part of her head. " Oh, oh !" and she gave a deep groan. 
*' What did you do with him ?" '' I dissected him — oh ! 
I did." " Are you sorry for it now ?" " Oh, oh 1 I can't 
repent — I can't." '' Is there then no hope for you ?" — 



58 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DE^ J'SION. 

^* I have just heard that there is; but the time is so far 
off before I shall begin to progress. Oh, I can't repent. — 
Oh, oh !" and then she became violent. She pounded the 
table with her fists and knuckles, so that, fearing she might 
break some of her bones, our friend interposed his arm, 
so that she might spend her strength on it. But that 
not being very pleasant, he drew his arm back, and pulled 
away the table from her. She rose and caught hold of it, 
pulling it back, and pounded it more furiously, and as 
rapidly as her hands could well move. All the time her 
features were distorted, and the very picture of rage and 
despair. There seemed to be no stopping or calming her. 
All became somewhat alarmed. Her mother also seemed 
so. She arose and caught hold of her daughter, and spoke 
out aloud — '' In the name of the Lord, I beseech you to 
leave her !" In a moment she sat down. She groaned 
once or twice, and then opened her eyes, and looked round 
and asked what was the matter. She seemed to be bewil- 
dered. When told what had happened, she said she thought 
that some bad spirit had had possession of her, but she 
had no knowledge of what had transpired. ^' But did you 
not hurt your hands by pounding so hard ?" " No," she 
replied. '' But did I not hurt you ?'' '^ Yes, but not 
much. We wished," he said, " to save you from being 
injured." 

Having seen enough at that time, she was requested not 
to permit any more of the spirits to take possession of her 
if she could prevent it. Astonished at what he saw, after 
a few minutes' conversation with the family he came away. 
He learned, however, from the young woman, that accord- 
ing to her account her father died many years ago, a wicked 
man; that aiui some years in the invisible world, and 



THE PHENOMENA AT DAVE KPOKt's. 50 

after suflfering a great deal, he obtained permission (from 
whom she did not say) to come back to this world and 
make a medium of his daughter. By doing so he had 
done a good act, and that helped him to make some pro- 
gress towards being better and happier. 

This is the account she gave of the matter ; but she does 
not attempt to explain or account for the influence that 
came upon her some two years ago. She professes to feel 
as yet no injury from the agitations and shakings she has 
to pass through. When asked if she really thought that 
the spirits that took possession of her were what they pro- 
fessed to be — viz., the spirits of departed human beings, 
her father's spirit among them — she said she thought so, 
but was not certain ; still, that seemed to be her belief of 
the matter. 

As to the above account, we can have no doubt of the 
reality of the events themselves, for our friend saw them, 
and could not be mistaken. Indeed, there are so many eye 
and ear witnesses to so many of these phenomena, that it is 
vain to deny the things themselves. 

But here is another account, and with this we shall con- 
clude this part of the subject. We cut it, a few weeks 
ago, out of one of the papers of the day. The statement! 
is as follows : 

THE PHENOMENA AT DAVENPORT's. 

"We have on various occasions alluded to the mysterious 
and inexplicable manifestations at the above locality on 
Maine street, which are being daily and nightly developed, 
and of a character to startle the most intelligent minds in 
this or any other community. That these demonstrations 
partake of more than mere r.uman agency, we are inclined 



60 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

to think any reasoning mind, after fairly looking into the 
matter, and bringing all ordinary and extraordinary talent 
to bear upon it, and failing to elucidate, will be obliged to 
acknowledge, we cannot for a moment doubt ; but of the 
character of the cause which doe&- produce pl^nomena so pe- 
culiar, it is not our province to speculate upon. 

It would appear that mind, the concentrated mental 
force present at certain times, will either in the one case 
help to produce certain effects, or in other cases serve to 
destroy them. Also, that the atmosphere at times is favor- 
able or unfavorable, and other influences operating for or 
against the demonstration of a new and most mysterious 
principle, the germ of which is now beginning to manifest 
itself. Night after night, and daily, also, can be heard a 
voice, which speaks with, to say the least, human strength, 
and conveying ideas often of more than ordinary human 
sagacity. This intelligence can be communicated with when 
one is alone with the single medium, a boy of some twelve 
years old, whose hands are held, at which time the air is 
filled with noises, and sounds partaking of voices, whis- 
tlings, fingering of the strings of violins, guitars, &c. 

Last evening, with a number of respectable and perfect- 
ly sensible observers, we witnessed all of the above demon- 
strations, and a few more of even greater mystery. Lights 
of a character resembling shooting stars, or the rapid pas- 
sage of lightning, filled the room for several minutes. This 
phenomena is, we are told, often observed when human and 
atmospheric influence permit ; but a still more unaccount- 
able demonstration was given of this superhuman power. 
There were two mediums at the table, the eldest a lad of 
sixteen, we should judge. This boy was lifted, chair and 
all, to the ceiling, a distance of some twelve feet, at least, 



WONDERS AT BUFFALO. 61 

and struck heavily there, indenting the plastering, and 
marking the chair with the whitewash. A request was 
made to the invisible agent who controls an J converses with 
them, to do it again, and permit the boy to mark the ceiling 
with red chalk. After the company satisfied themselves 
that, by placing a chair on the table, and standing up in it, 
the boy could not reach the ceiling within several feet, the 
lights are put out, and immediately a heavy body, like 
dropping a hundred weight upon the floor, was felt to have 
come down ; the light was produced, and a red chalk line 
on the ceiling showed where the boy had been. 

Perhaps some rational explanation can be given of hu- 
man agency in all this ; if so, we should like to get hold 
of it. We feel that ordinary principles known to man, 
will not admit of it ; but what is it ? There we will leave 
the subject." — Buffalo Republican. 

The question now arises, in view of all these and of 
other facts that might be stated, and which the reader may 
find in the published books of the spiritualists, and which 
receive their full approbation; what is the proper explana- 
tion of them ? Are they all mere tricks, or are they natu- 
ral phenomena, or are they supernatural ? And if so, 
what kind of agency produces them ? 



CHAPTER III. 

THE THEORIES. 

Admitting then all the facts that have hitherto been re- 
ported in connection with these various forms of spiritual 
manifestations, to be veritable facts, the question arises, 
how are they to be explained ? Every effect must have 
an adequate cause. This is common sense and sound phi- 
losophy. There is a cause for all these effects. What is 
that cause ? 

TRICKERY. 

To this question it is answered by some, the whole thing 
is a trick ; a mere matter of deception, and of lies on the 
part of those who are the actors, or mediums, in the case. 
It is a plan to gain money or notoriety. 

To such remarks, so unguarded, and so devoid of truth, 
we reply, those who make them know not what manner of 
spirit they are of: they know not what they say, nor 
whereof they affirm. In all probability they are made by 
those who have never carefully examined the subject, and 
who think the shortest way and the best to treat any and 
every delusion by which souls may be ruined, for time and 
for eternity, is by a sneer and by assumed contempt. We 
have heard such arguments from the pulpit, against spiri- 
tualism, and can only say, that, if we had the least bearing 
toward the delusion, or had doubts as to its true character 



THE THEORIES VENTRILOQUISM. 63 

such preaching would rather make a convert of us to it, 
than give us a more perfect abhorrence of it than we have. 
It is an utter impossibility that the multitudes of men, 
women, and little children, who are now the subjects of 
these manifestations, and many of them without any wish 
or will on their part, can be practicing trickery and false- 
hood. That some few may do so can easily be supposed. 
That this is the case with any great number cannot be ; 
and any one, who is acquainted with the facts in the case, 
and the persons who are engaged in it, must know that it 
cannot be that they are deliberately trying to deceive the 
people. We give them full credit for honesty at least. 

It has been said, that all the noises and rappings that 
have been heard, could be produced by a person, whose 
knee-joints could, at will, be made to crack ! ! Others 
have thought that wires or springs, or something of the 
kind, had been previously arranged by the operators, and 
that the noises were produced in that way. These were 
among some of the first guesses at explanation ; but no 
one now, we believe, thinks that these come any way near to 
the truth. These explanations are wholly discarded. 

VENTRILOQUISM 

Was next supposed to be the true explanation of the sounds 
and noises. From what we heard about the matter, at 
first, we supposed that it might be so : for these abdomi- 
nal talkers can do many very strange things, and all too, 
they tell us, quite scientifically. But this will not account for 
the noises heard, when there is no one within speaking dis- 
tance to produce them. They have been heard at such 
times, and places, and under such circumstances as wholly 



64 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

to forbid the idea of their proceeding from any ventrilo- 
quist, however great his power may be. 

We have witnessed the jugglers in India perform some 
astonishing things, and have heard of others still more un- 
accountable having been performed by them, and which 
they said were all a mere series of tricks, and could be done 
by any one else, if they had the tact and the knowledge. 
We doubt it. We are by no means certain that there is 
not assistance lent these persons by a power outside of 
themselves. They may think it is all from themselves ; 
but we believe they are mistaken. 

But, from the curious tricks that some may perform in 
the presence of others, and the mode of doing these things 
at the time, so that they cannot possibly be detected, the 
conclusion is drawn, that all these rappings, voices, noises, 
music, &c., are of a like character. The whole is scientifi- 
cally done, and there is really nothing wrong, but only 
amusement in the whole matter ! Ventriloquism cannot 
possibly explain the phenomena. 

ELECTRICITY, 

Galvanism, odic-force, and the power of the human will, 
have all been brought forward to account for the wonders 
of spiritualism. The French philosophers, who, of course, 
are presumed to know everything that appertains to the 
mysterious, have written learnedly upon the subject. So 
have learned and scientific men in this country done the 
same thing. They had it all right. Yes, they know all about 
it. But soon some new manifestation was made, and then 
the books which they had written on the subject, and their 
finely argued- out theories too were all cast overboard into 



THE THEORIES EI, KCTIlIfMTV- -GALVANISM. G5 

the wide sea of uncertainty, where many a favorite theory 
on many a subject lies quietly asleep. 

Electricity and galvanism could do, as agencies, when 
directed by some mind, many wonderful things. But these 
wise men soon found that electricity would not cause a 
lamp to be lifted up off the mantle, and be dashed into a 
looking-glass worth some $50 or more; or the door of a 
room to be locked on the inside, while no one was in the 
room ; or garments to be torn off persons while they have 
been quietly sitting in their room ; or when persons had 
knelt down to pray, to pull them off their knees ; or when 
papers were placed in private drawers in writing desks, 
and locked up, that they should be torn to pieces, or fire 
be kindled in them, so that they were actually burnt up, 
and the wood of the desk charred ; or that persons should 
be pushed about and injured, and when no body was in or 
near the house, that the doors should still remain locked, 
and the drawers too, and yet all the clothes be taken from 
the drawers, and strewed about over the floor, or dressed 
up in all kinds of fantastic shapes ; or that persons should 
be lifted up, and carried forward for squares without their 
feet touching the ground ; or that the persons could rise 
up in public assemblies, and speak intelligibly, and scien- 
tifically, and philosophically, for an hour at a time on sub- 
jects they knew but little of, and when the discourse was 
over did not know what had been said, and could by no 
means use language so fine, so chaste, and so appropriate ; 
or could dictate and write letters, and drop them down in 
a room as if they had fallen from the ceiling, while the ink 
was still wet on the paper ; and all these things and thou- 
sands of others that have been done, they found were ac- 
tually done, and that their electricity, though it could ri^^e 



66 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

the oak and plough the earth in deep furrows, and fire the 
ship on the sea, or the house on the land, when permitted 
by God to do its work, yet it could not do, by man's con- 
trol, these small things. Electricity now has got permis- 
sion to retire from the field of spiritualistic wonders. The 
leave of absence, we think, is just, and demanded by the 
nature of the case. 

THE HUMAN WILL. 

This has been brought, in the next place, to bear upon 
the subject, and to explain it. Much has been said about 
the voluntary and involuntary powers and instincts of the 
human mind. But, in all our life, we have never yet 
read, or heard of a case where a man, by taking thought, 
by his intense anxiety of mind, or fixedness of thought, or 
purpose of will could, or ever did add one cubit to his 
stature, or prolong his life an hour ; or even change the 
color of a hair, making it either white or black. (Mat. 
v: 36; vi: 27.) If so small a thing as that cannot be 
done by the force of the human will ; on what ground can 
we expect that these greater things can be done ? We 
know that the will of some men may be called an iron will, 
and may, by its firmness, produce many mighty effects, by 
swaying the minds of others ; but, all the force of all the 
minds of men from Adam down to the present time, if they 
could be brought to bear unitedly upon any piece of dead 
matter, could never move it an inch, much less lift up 
heavy masses of matter, and hurl them about as chaff be- 
fore the wind. It is not the province of the hman mind 
to do such things. Its field of operation, and its work is 
different. It also has a free permit to withdraw from this 
spirit -work, and work when and where the Lord appoints. 



THE THEORIES THE DEPARTED SPIRITS. 67 

By universal consent, all who are known as Spiritualists 
have given up the idea that these phenomena are produced 
by any thing else than by 

THE SPIRITS OF DEl^ARTEO HUMAN 

BEINOS. 

They may not have always thought so. But, it is evident, 
that this is now the theory. They profess to believe that 
the spirits of all persons, immediately after death, enter 
into the invisible world, (which is all around us,) with the 
same moral character which they had while in the body. 
If they are wicked, they enter the second sphere, the space 
which is immediately around the earth. Here are none 
but what are called undeveloped spirits. They retain all 
their ignorance, and rudeness, and all their characteristic 
traits of character while on the earth and dwelling among 
the living in the flesh. In this, and in all the spheres, there 
are many circles, probably seven. So that a spirit that is 
bad must enter one of these seven circles of this second 
sphere. Development and progression are the established 
order of the invisible world. Many of the spirits are so 
bad that it is a long time before they begin their progres- 
sive course upwards. But sooner or later this is the case. 
In this place they make an atonement for the sins they 
had committed in life, and of which they had not repented. 
When they once begin to rise, their progress may be very 
rapid. And, as they will henceforward continue to make 
progress, they will all ultimately be perfectly and eternally 
holy and happy. 

Those who are good persons on earth will, at their death, 
enter into a higher sphere. Here they enjoy the society 



68 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

of the good. The spirits in the higher spheres can hold 
intercourse with the good even in the spheres above them. 
All of these spirits, both the good and the bad, are anx- 
ious to re-enter the bodies of persons still in the flesh. 
The good spirits aim to do good, and their desire is to in- 
struct mortals in the right way, and to correct the many 
erroneous views which persons, in the flesh, fall into by 
their implicit belief in the statements of the Bible. The 
Bible, these spirits say, is wrong in many of its statements. 
It is their object to correct these errors, if possible. Hence 
their great desire to enter the bodies of living human be- 
ings, so as to communicate these things to the world. It 
is not every one that they can control, or fit for their ser- 
vice, so as to communicate by them. But, they can pre- 
pare them for these communications by a process of train- 
ing, that may continue for a longer or shorter period of 
time. These persons are called 

MEDIUMS. 

There is a great variety of mediums. Some are called 
writing mediums : others are speaking, or seeing, or healing 
mediums. The modes of communication with mortals in 
the flesh, through these difl'erent mediums, by the spirits 
of the departed are various, but the agents are the same — 
they are always the spirits of the departed. 

The bad spirits are equally desirous to communicate 
with men in the flesh, or rather to enter into the body of 
some one living, so as to get some respite from their suf- 
fering in the lower spheres. They also retain the same 
tempers in the spirit world that they had while here. As 
they were fond of quarreling and strife while here, so the 
desire to get where they can indulge again their old 



SPIRITS- -THEIR 1 £,ACHINGS. 69 

practice of disputation, and wrangling, urges them to take 
possession of an}' body that they can possibly enter. They 
are not choice of the persons they may enter, nor are they 
in any way particular as to the propriety of their conduct 
while they have possession of the body. They often make 
the person possessed by them, use filthy language and ges- 
tures to correspond to their words. — These are what may 
be called unclean spirits — or dirty spirits. Truth is, by 
no means, sacred with them. They will utter falsehoods, 
and tell you to your face that it is their business to lie — 
these are lying spirits. All of these spirits, both the good 
and the bad, are, according to Spiritualism, the souls of 
departed human beings ; for they maintain that there is no 
devil, and of course there are no evil angels^ as Christians 
generally believe. 

TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRITS. 

There is an old proverb that says, " As he (man) think- 
eth in his heart so is he," Prov. xxiii : 7. This statement 
is founded in truth ; for a man's thoughts are a good index 
to the state of his heart. There is another statement equal- 
ly true, of this nature : ^' Out of the abundance of the heart 
the mouth speaketh," Matt, xii : 34 : and yet another which 
says, " Ye shall know them by their fruits," Matt. Vii : 16. 
As all these statements are admitted truths, it seems to be 
perfectly right to test the character of these teachers by 
the doctrines they may teach. And especially so, since we 
are earnestly exhorted by one of beloved memory to do so, 
arfd who, in the affection of his heart, says, ^^ Beloved, be- 
lieve not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are 
of Grod," 1 John iv : 1. An ancient writer says, " To the 
law and the testimony ; if they speak not according to this 



70 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

word, it is because there is no light in them." Is. viii : 20. 
Taking, then, these principles for our guide, let us inquire 
what are the teachings of these spirits, who come commis- 
sioned from some quarter, to add, during the continuance 
of this dispensation, to the things which God hath author- 
ized His servants to write in the book of His truth reveal- 
ed to man. Rev. xxii : 18. 

1. IN REFERENCE TO GOD. 

Spiritualism teaches that there is a God who is Supreme 
and over all. Some individuals among them say, '' There 
is no Supreme Spirit — each spirit is a God." " Thou be- 
lievest that there is one God. Thou doest well : the de- 
mons also (ta daimonia) believe and tremble. But wilt 
thou know, vain man, that faith without works is dead ?" 

The mere belief in the existence of a God is no proof of 
the goodness of the believer. All nations believe in some 
one Supreme Being, except the Parsees, the ancient Zoro- 
asterites, who held to two first principles, one good, the 
other bad, which they look upon as two gods of equal 
power and from whom all things have sprung. The myth- 
ological system of India teaches that there is but one 
Being, from whom all the gods, and all things have sprung. 
In the'worship of the many gods, they entirely overlook 
the worship of the One. Polytheism and Pantheism can 
be taught and believed, only where the light of Divine 
revelation does not shine. 

But a question arises here — ^^ What is God ? accord- 
ing to spirit teaching." Let them answer the question. 

" You have said that the sun was pure fire, what do you 
think of it now ?" was the question which was proposed 
by one to the spirit that purported to be the soul of one 



SPIRIT-THEOLOGY. 71 

who liad left the body, and had gone into the spirit-world, 
and was then speaking through the lips of x medium, a 
lady, the answer is — 

"The sun which you behold is the God of heaven and earth." 

*' What do you mean by that ?" 

" Spirits know no other; and God has never been seen 
in any other form.'' 

Some teach that " God is a spirit, and that the world is 
his body." 

All this is, of course, blank, bald atheism. 

What the particular views of God may be, which others 
of these spirits holdi, or which spiritualists hold, we know 
not ; but we have never yet read of one of these spirits 
teaching the Bible view of the character of God, nor do we 
know of a spiritualist that holds it. There is a uniform, 
invariable denial of the Scriptural representation of the 
Divine Being. The god they believe in is not the God 
that is revealed in the Bible. 

2. WHAT THEY TEACH CONCERNING CHRIST. 

The uniform teaching of all the spirits is, that Jesus is 
not Divine. Some call him the Son of God ; but by that 
term they do not mean to express the idea of equality with 
the Father. He is the highest and the most exalted of 
creatures — he himself being a mere creature. According 
to the spirits, He did not die for the salvation of sinners ; 
He did not make an atonement for sin ; He did not come 
to destroy the works of the Devil ; for they affirm there is 
no personal Devil. But as if to make certainty more sure, 
we have a published account of the conception, birth, and 
life of Jesus, which professes to be from Himself, and com- 
municated through a medium a short time ago, in which 



72 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

He flatly denies the account given of Him by the Evangel- 
ist Luke ; He states he is nothing but a man, and never 
was anything more. 

According to all this, the whole plan of salvation is a 
solemn farce. The preaching of faith and repentance, and 
the necessity of regeneration by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, (whose personal existence they deny,) and the sanc- 
tification of the soul as a prerequisite for the kingdom of 1 
God, are but a gilded lie. The wicked here of all grades, 
and those guilty of the basest of crimes, are not condemned, 
and never will be ; but they pass immediately into a state 
of comparative happiness, where, by suffering, they make 
an atonement for their sins, and then begin to make pro- 
gress in happiness and peace, and continue to increase in 
blessedness, and joy, and knowledge until they have at- 
tained the highest degree of glory, (in the ninth sphere ac- 
cording to some,) where they will forever be. 

Expressions like the following, which purport to be com- 
munications from the spirits to their dearly beloved friends 
and former acquaintances in this city, are scattered in pro- 
fuse abundance throughout the works that are published 
by Spiritualists : 

" All are much happier in the spirit-world than they 
were on earth." " All are in a state of progression in the 
spirit-world ; none remain where they enter ; all will pro- 
gress and enjoy as much happiness constantly as they are 
capable of receiving." ** When the people begin to believe 
this great truth^ the errors of the popular religion will 
then be abandoned." " Man can never be thoroughly re- 
formed till God is divested of his artificial attributes. "...^^ 
" So long as He is held up to man clothed in these false 
characters, man can never see Him in his true light ; con- 



SPIRIT-THEOLOGY. 73 

Bequeutly, cannot appreciate Him in scarcely the smallest 
degree." The attribute of justice is particularly referred 
to here. '' It [spiritualism] will bring about more good to 
mankind than any sectarian religion can possibly do." — 
" If you want to progress, you must let your mind dwell 
upon the beauties of nature and of the spirit home." (Not 
Christ and his salvation.) " This glorious destiny (future 
happiness) is prepared for all men without exception — none 
are to be excluded ; all shall be happy." '^ None of the 
race of mankind is destined to be miserable. Unbounded 
happiness is prepared for all." 

To a Baptist preacher from his sister in the spirit- 
world : ^' My DeaPc Brother : — You have been a believer in 
a dark and gloomy creed. There is no misery in any de- 
partment of the spirit home, but progression is onward and 
upward ! Our joy is unutterable. Man alone possesses 
the power of progression. He has progressed from fhe 
creation of the world, and is now much above bis original 
condition on the earth. Now think of what we have said 
We do not want you to harmonize it with the dark and 
gloomy popular religion. This cannot be done, Commu 
nications from us can never agree with their principal teach 
ings. [True.] We believe in no God of anger and wrath 
There is no such being. All is guided by infinite wisdom 
love, and goodness." 

These extracts give the spirit and marrow of this com 
munication. 

A son purports to write to his mother, and says : ^^ My 
dear mother : — Pin not your faith on creeds and doctrines 
of faith. Grod is love. He loves all his intelligent creation, 
and this is sufficient to lead all who yield to its holy influ- 
ence into the presence of the Great Creator." 

4 



74 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

Another : " My Dear Grandchild : — The more we are 
talked to the better we can respond. It gives us more 
power to have you familiar with us." [No doubt it does.] 

From a Son to his Mother. ^' My Dear Mother : — 
You have mourned for me ; do so no more. Your loss has 
been my great gain. My happiness is much greater than 
you can conceive of. Spirits are all happy, and when you 
believe in spiritual manifestations, you will feel far hap- 
pier than you now do. Then you will not fear the threats 
of hell and damnation that are preached to you. Such 
doctrine is wrong, and bad in its tendencies on the human 
mind, and has been the cause of much unbelief in the im- 
mortality of the soul, and infidelity to truth and right- 
eousness." 

From a Father to his Son, *' My Dear Son : — You have 
much to learn. Your nature is progressive. We come to 
teach you this, and to aid you to develop your spiritual 
powers. We come to teach you that God is love ; that the 
spirit of man is an emanation from Him, (Hindooism) and 
that man is a unit I that his present social arrangements 
are wrongs and opposed to his best interests in life, and in 
the one to come." (Would Socialism and Pree-loveism be 
better ?) 

In a colloquy held with the spirits, the following ques- 
tions were asked, to which the appended answers were given : 

^^ Is the physical condition of man inferior to what it 
was formerly ? 

" No ; it is more perfected. 

" Does physical suffering retard spiritual development ? 

*^No. 



SPIRIT THEOLOGY. 75 

*' Then man was not made originally as j^^erfect, physicallj 
and spiritually, as he is now ? 

^^ No ; many changes have taken place. He has progress- 
ed in his physical being with his spiritual development." 

(See Spiritual manifestations in the city of Philadel- 
phia, by a member of the First Circle. Pages 62-90. 
1851.) 

Thus the fall of man, his original righteousness and sub- 
sequent sinning, and all God's plans and purposes to re- 
deem a fallen race, and save them through Jesus Christ, 
the only Redeemer, are perfectly ignored and set aside by 
these demoniacal revelations. True it is that their teach- 
ings can never harmonize with the Word of God, as re- 
vealed to us in the Bible. 

3. THE TEACHINGS OF SPIRITS AS TO THE BIBLE. 

On this subject there is a slight discrepancy among 
them, but the general idea is about the same. The extracts 
given already concerning the teachings of the spirits, show 
what are their general views as to the value of the Bible. 
But one of these spirits, professing to be the Apostle Paul, 
gives us his connected views on the whole Bible, which 
show certainly great progress in some direction. The spirit 
that took possession of the medium declared himself to be 
the Apostle. The question was asked this spirit, 

" What think you of the Bible now, since your entrance 
into the spirit world ?" 

The answer was given in the following language : 

Genesis — '^ About as -true as any fictitious work now in 
print," p. 10. 

Exodus — " As good a book as oould have been expected 
at that day," p. 10. 



7Q SPIRITUALISM, k SATANIC DELUSION. - 

Leviticus — ^* Not directly from God, as man supposes ' 
p. 12. 

Numbers — **Such an absurdity as that, [the facts stated 
in chap. 1st] ought to be cast into the lowest depth of the 
infernal regions," p. 13. 

Joshua — " Almost the whole book is false," lb. 

Judges — " About the same as the others; and it needs 
no argument to show that it is void of inspiration," p. 14. 

Ruth — " Without inspiration, the same as the others," 
p. 15. 

Samuel — ^^ A part of it is correct," p. 15. 

Kings — ^'Multitudes of mistakes — not correct — no in- 
spiration," pp. 16, 17. 

Ezra — " By a person bearing its name, without inspi- 
ration," p. 17. 

Job — *^ Written through mediums — would have been 
correct, had it not been that men destroyed its purity," 
pp. 18, 19. , 

Psalms — " Written in the same way and some of them 
correct," p 19. 

The rest of the books of the Old Testament are said to 
be " somewhat correct in the main," p. 20. 

'^ Let me say unto you, man ! at this day, in regard 
to the Old Testament, 'Mene, Mene, Tekel. Upharsin,'" 
p. 21. 

In passing through the Gospels, Epistles, and the Apo- 
ealipse, this vile spirit exclaims, " Not correct," '^ mistake," 
*' fictitious," ^'contrary to the will of God." And to cap 
the whole, '' Such, man, are the principles the books you 
call the Bible, are conveying ;o the inhabitants of th€ earth. 
horrible ! " p. 92. 



THE SPIRITS — WHO ARE THEY ? 77 

" The Old Testament, which Christ declared wrong and 
wicked, you are still calling the Word of God. . . . Al 
though your angelic fathers, by the wisdom of God, are 
allowed to come unto you, and do away with the wicked 
precepts of your Bible," pp. 93, 94. 

Thus we have spirit testimony as to the value of the 
Sacred Scriptures. They make a clean sweep of it all. — 
And why should they not ; for certainly the Scriptures 
condemn them most clearly. And with this rejection of the 
Bible, they reject also, all the doctrines which are the pe- 
culiarity and the glory of Christianity. "It is readily 
granted," says Mr, Brittan, "that spiritualism rejects the 
common notions respecting the fall of angels, total depra- 
vity, and the atonement." " We do also reject the resur- 
rection as taught by accredited authorities in Mythologi- 
cal theology," and by this he means Christianity. 

A mere glance at a few numbers of the " Spiritual Tele- 
graph," or at any of the accredited works on spiritualism, 
is sufficient to convince any one that the teachings of spir- 
itualism are the " teachings of Demons," or in our render- 
ing of the passage, " doctrines of Devils," 1 Tim. iv : 1, 
and opposed to Christ and his salvation. 

THE SPIRITS -^V^HO ARE THEY? 

We have admitted the facts in the case, viz : that com- 
munications are really made by invisible, and by intelli- 
gent agents to the living at the present time. Who are 
they ? Spiritualists, with one voice, say they are the spirits 
of good or bad men, who formerly lived on earth. They 
deny that there are any intelligent beings in the invisible 
world called angelfi,' who are a listinct class from ihe 



78 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

spirits of men. Is this so ? We readily grant that 
we have no light on this subject except what we derive di- 
rectly from the Bible. Does, then, the Bible teach that 
there is a distinct class of beings from the souls of men ? 
tf there be not, then the faith of the people of God, from 
the days of Adam down to the present time, has been mis- 
placed, yea, more, all the world of men have been believing 
a falsity. That there are 

ANQELS, 

who are a distinct class of intelligent beings from men 
whether in the body or out of it, is to our minds, most 
evident from the Scriptures. The word Angellos is Grreek, 
and the word Mala^ is Hebrew, and both signify a mes- 
senger ^ an angel. These words are used both in the Old, 
and in the New Testament to mean (a) human messengers, 
or agents for others ; 2 Sam. ii : 5. Mark i : 2. Jas. ii : 
25; (b) officers of the churches. Hag. i; 13. Rev. i : 20 ; 
(c) Jesus Christ, Mai. iii : 1.; (d) created intelligences, 
both good and bad ; Heb. i: 14. Jude6. Now, because the 
word angel does, sometimes, mean a mere human being, it 
certainly is not good reasoning to say it can mean nothing 
else. The passage in Jude most clearly proves that there 
is a class of intelligent beings different from man. The 
apostle speaks of " the angels who kept not their first 
estate,^'' {ten archen, their principality, as the marginal 
reading is.) This, most evidently conveys the' idea that 
some of them did keep their first estate. Only those who 
kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation 
hath God reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, 
unto the judgment of the great day. 



ANGELS NOT MEN. /J 

It is evident, then, from this passage that there must be 
a distinct class of beings, called angels, for these two ob 
vious reasons, viz. : 

(1.) All men have sinned, and have come short of th( 
glory of God. Rom. iii : 23. There is no exception : tbe}^ 
have all lost their first estate. Hence, men are a different 
class from those beings, only some of whom have lost their 
first estate, while others have kept theirs. 

(2.) These angels are said^to have left their own habita- 
tion. God cast those of them that sinned down to hell 
and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved 
unto judgment. 2 Pet. ii: 4. They were cast down, and 
cast out of the place they formerly occupied. But, man 
was made on this earth. This earth was given to him at 
first — and although he has sinned, still he is here, and 
dwells upon it. He has not been cast out of it. This 
proves clearly that men and angels are different, and be- 
long each to an order of beings peculiar to itself. 

The Greek word tartarosas in 2 Pet. ii : 4, and rendered 
by "cast down to hell," or to cast into Tartarus, needs a word 
of explanation. The word Tartarus means, according to 
Greek writers, "in a physical sense, the bounds, or YergQ 
of this material system." So that God cast the rebel an- 
gels out of his presence, into that blackness of darkness 
where they will be forever deprived of the light of His 
countenance, and that place is, probably, at present, w^ithin 
the atmosphere of ur earth. For we read that Satan is 
the Prince of the power of the air, as well as the Prince 
of this world. 

In the book of Job, (chap, xxxviii : 4-7,) we read that 
when God laid the foundations of the earth, and the corner 
stone thereof, then the morning stars {cocabai boker) sang 



80 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

together : and all the sons of Q-od (Benai Elohim) shouted 
for joy. By these terms intelligent beings most certainly 
are meant, and as they sang together, when the foundations 
of the earth were first laid, and as man was not made till 
the sixth day of the work of creation, after the world had 
been formed, it is manifest that there must be an order of 
beings, wholly distinct from Adam and Eve, for they were 
in existence, and sang this song of praise before our first 
parents were created. ^ 

There is but one more passage that we would adduce 
to prove that there are angels, a class of beings distinct 
from man, and that is in Heb. xii : 22-23. The apostle 
says, " Ye are come to Mount Zion, and unto the city of 
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innu- 
merable company of angels^ to the general assembly and 
church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and 
to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men 
made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new coven- 
ant." Here we see that the apostle makes a distinction 
between angels^ and the spirits of just men. He certainly 
does not consider them to be one and the same order of 
beings. If he did, why use such language ? 

Not to occupy more time on this part of the subject, 
it is evident that there is an order of beings wholly dis- 
tinct from man, who are intelligent, and who have the 
power to communicate with each other and with other in- 
telligent beings like man, if they are permitted to do so. 

Taking this, then, as a fixed fact, we learn from the 
Bible that there are both good and bad angels ; that they 
are numerous ; that they are intelligent ; that they are 
strong ; and as wickedness does not, necessarily, diminish 
the strength of men or angels, wicked angels may have as 



ANGELIC POWER. 



much physical sbreugth, after their fall, is they had before 
it. If good angels can communicate with men, and if 
they can move heavy stones (Matt, xxviii : 2,) and open 
prison doors, locking them up again (Acts xii : 7-19,) may 
not evil angels do the same things ? We see no reason 
why they may not. We believe they do. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE TRUTH 



Having, in all candor and truthfulness, so far as we 
know the truth in the case, given the view which the spirit- 
ualists hold on the subject of these manifestations, we now 
proceed to show that the whole thing, in its incipienoy, 
progress, and aim, is the work of Satan. 

If we can demonstrate the fact that these things cannot 
proceed from mere disease ; nor from good angels ; nor 
from the spirits of good or bad men^ in or out of the body ; 
then the conclusion is irresistible that the whole work is 
of the Devil and his angels. And this, by God's help, 
we will do. 

These manifestations are not diseases^ nor the mere ef- 
fect of a peculiar state of body or mind. 

The demoniacs, in the days of our Lord, were, in many 
cases, diseased ; but these diseases were the effect of some 
derangement in the body, produced by some evil spirits, 
who attached themselves to them, or in some way unknown 
to us, dwelt in them. Our Lord spoke to the demon in 
the possessed, and not to the disease. The demon answer- 
ed Him, and asked if He had come to torment him before 
the time. He asked permission, if cast out of the man, to 
go into the swine, that "were a good way off feeding." 
The demon was cast out and did go into the swine. This 
could not be a disease that could leave a man and seize 



WHAT ARE THE SPUITS ? 8o 

uj)on swioe a good way off. Nor was it the man himself 
who ran off and scared the swine ; for, when the people 
came they saw the man sitting quietly and clad in proper 
garments, and in his right mind. To say that this was a 
mere disease, is absurdity itself run mad. And equally 
absurd is it to say that the manifestations now are mere 
diseases. The mediums of our day may be diseased ; but 
their disease is the effect of spirit-power. We need not 
dwell on this point. See the history as recorded by Matt. 
viii: 28-34, and Mark v: 1-19. See also " Twells on 
Demoniacs." 

THEY ARE NOT THE WORK OF OOOD 

ANOELS. 

So far as we have^ any knowledge about the ministry of 
angels, we learn that they are all sent forth to minister for 
those or on account of those, who shall be {tous mellontas^ 
about to become) the heirs of salvation. Heb. 1 : 14. 
If this be the work of all of them, then it is evident thai 
these spirits, which possess our modern demoniacs, or in- 
fluence the mediums, are not good angels, for all of these 
angels are engaged in the good and blessed work of aiding 
and encouraging, and strengthening, and defeoding those 
who are, or are about to become the heirs of salvation ; 
whereas these spirits, in our day, are engaged in a very 
different kind of work. They are engaged in afflicting 
God's people ; in turning away the people from hearing 
the truth ; in leading them to deny the Bible, and all the 
great doctrines which flow out from that grand central 
truth, God manifest in the flesh. Good angels cannot en- 
gage in a bad work. It is evident from this single view 



84 SPIRITUALISM, A SA^IANIC DELUSION. 

of the subject that these varied manifestations cannot pro* 
oeed from good angels. 

There are now left us but two sources, for which these 
manifestations can possibly come, viz., either from the 
spirits of departed human beings, or from Satan and his 
hosts of evil spirits. The first of these is the one held by 
spiritualists to be the true one. 

THEY ARE NOT SPIRITS OF THE DEAD. 

Are these spirit manifestations produced by the spirits 
of departed human beings ; and do the communications 
which are made, come from human beings in the invisible 
world, as they purport to be ? 

This is what spiritualists affirm, and in this faith we 
doubt not, many, probably nearly all , fully confide. Some 
there are, who say they know not what to think of them. 
We do not call in question the sincerity of any one of the 
multitudes who really think that they do at times converse 
with their departed friends. There is something very 
comforting to the sorrowing heart to be assured that the 
departed one is happy. We wish all our departed friends 
to be so. We hope they are ; but to know that fact, if it 
could be known, would relieve the mourning friends 
of half their grief, wipe away their tears, and turn their 
mourning into gladness. This, spiritualism professes to 
do. And it is this, which renders the deception so fasci- 
nating, and so comforting too, in this aspect of the subject, 
that it is difficult, and in many cases will be impossible to 
break the enchantment. God alone can do that. 

We might demand of the spiritualists the proof that the 
spirit of some departed one does come and communicate 
with them through the medium. Why cannot these de- 



WHAT ARE THE SPIRITS ? St 

parted ones communicate with their former friends in the 
flesh directly, without the intervention of a table or a third 
person ? There is some dijficulty in the case ; and it is 
answered, the conditions are not favorable ; but, hereafter, 
when the world of human beings, in the flesh, shall have 
developed their moral and physical nature, under the teach- 
ings of spirits, then the intercourse between the visible and 
the invisible worlds will again be renewed and established 
on a firm and unchanging basis forever. This will be the 
millennial age of the world. But such positive proof, con- 
vincing and assuring they cannot give, that can satisfy the 
enquiring soul. Even on their own minds there is a doubt 
left — for granting, as they do, that there are evil spirits, 
and lying spirits, they may be deceived by them, and they 
cannot be certain that they are not. We apprehend that 
none of the firmest believers in these spiritual communi- 
cations would be willing to surrender up their personal 
property to some of their neighbors, who could bring for- 
ward no better, no stronger proof that the property in 
question belonged to them, than these spiritualists do that 
these communications are veritable communications from 
their departed friends. Why then should they trust their 
salvation on so slight a foundation ? 

But while we miglt demand the proof that these spirits 
are the spirits of the departed from earth, we affirm that 
they cannot be such. 

For (1) if the spirits of the good are in heaven with 
God and Christ, then certainly they are not roaming all 
over the earth, disquieted by every Witch of Endor, and 
forced to appear at the summons of any spiritualist who 
may attempt to evoke them from their rest. 

But (2) if the dead are in an intermediate place of par- 



86 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

tial blessedness or misery, then certainly they cannot be 
traversing this earth and communicating with mankind. — 
Neither the rich man nor Lazarus could communicate with 
surviving friends. 

Or (3) if, as some teach, the dead are in a state of pro- 
found slumber till the resurrection, then their intercourse 
with mankind is a manifest impossibility. 

Without stopping to discuss these respective theories, 
we simply remark that upon either of them the theory of 
spiritual manifestations is untrue. 

That a few of the saints have appeared on earth after 
their departure from it, is what the Scriptures teach. — 
Elijah was taken up to heaven, b. c. 896. Moses died 
B. c. 1451 — that is, some 555 years before the translation 
of Elijah. Both of these persons appeared on the mount 
of transfiguration with our Lord. — Matt, xvii : 1-4. Some 
suppose that this was a mere vision (Matt, xvi : 9) of the 
bodies of Moses and Elijah, and that they were not in re- 
ality present. But we think, with Calvin and others, that 
they were really present. 

Quite a number of the bodies of the saints which slept 
came out of their graves, after the resurrection of our 
Lord, and went into the Holy City, and appeared unto 
many. — Matt, xxvii : 52, 53. We have no account of any- 
thing that they did beyond their mere appearance ; and 
we have no authority to say that they did do or say any- 
thing to any of the living. 

In Rev. xxii : 9. — The angel {angelos, messenger) who 
had been sent to John to communicate to him the book of 
Revelation, states distinctly that he was his ^^ fellow ser- 
vant, and of his brethren, the prophets, and of those who 
keep the sayings of this Book." He forbade John to pay 



OPINIOiNS OF THE HEATHEN. 87 

him religious reverence, but bade him worship God. In 
this case there was no possession ; the messenger appeared 
in his own person. And so it was with all the others of 
whom we read in the Scriptures. None of them ever ap- 
peared except in his own person and in his own body. 

But since the day that revelation was closed for this 
dispensation^ we have no account of any of the saints of the 
Lord that have ever returned to earth. Nor does God de- 
sign that they should. Revelation is filled up until the 
Lord shall come again. Under that new state of the church 
and of the world, there will be, doubtless, new communi- 
cations of God's will to man adapted to that peculiar state. 
But at present the Gentile church has, in the New Testa- 
ment, all the knowledge that God means to impart to her. 
Communications from any one from the spirit-world in- 
forming us of our duty, would be, in fact, to set aside the 
teachings of the Bible which God has already given us. — 
If men will not hear Moses and the prophets, and also the 
words of Christ and of his apostles, neither would they 
hear, though one could come from the dead. The time is 
coming, however, and it may be very nigh at hand, when 
the prediction of our Lord in John 1 : 51 — '^ Hereafter 
ye shall see the angels of God ascending and descending to 
(epi^ Matt, xxiv : 16) the Son of man" — shall be literally 
fulfilled. And then will be fulfilled that part of the 72d 
Psalm, which is so often sung in our churches and so little 
believed, 

" Angels descend with songs again, 
And Earth repeat the loved Amen." 

OPINIONS OF THE HEATHEN. 

It is doubtless true that some of the ancient Greek and 
Koman philosophers and wise men of antiquity did hold 



88 spiFaruALiSMj a satanic delusicn. 

that the demons were the souls of departed human beings. 
and that they did really take at times possession of the 
bodies of the living, and were the guardians of the people. 
Some of them were good, and some became bad. 

Hesiod, the celebrated Grreek poet who lived b. c. 900, 
tells us, in his "Works and Days," that •' In the golden- 
age, when Saturn reigned in heaven, men lived like gods, 
free from evils, and died just as if they had fallen asleep ; 
they became demons by the will of Jupiter, the great, 
powerful, dwelling upon the earth — guards of mortal men. 
They observe the good and evil done here; they are 
clothed with air, (invisible,) and roam over the earth 
everywhere ; they are innumerable, the immortal guards 
of mortal men." — Op. Hesiod^ Lib. 1. 

According to this idea, the souls of men, after their de- 
parture from this world, become the inspectors of human 
affairs, and as they dispensed good to mankind, they were 
called demons. But others make them also '' the dis- 
pensers of evil things as well as good to mankind, the 
plagues and the terrors of man, and the authors of much 
evil to them." — Proclus in Hesiod, See also Euseb. 
Frcep, Ev., Lib. 3. c. 3. 

Homer, the cotemporary of Hesiod, makes Minerva 
*^ retire to heaven to the palace of Jupiter and the other 
demons, meta daimonas alloiis?'' These demons were 
*•'- such as are removed from this life." — See Hiad i : v. 
222. Proclus in loco. 

But this is not the opinion held by others of the heathen 
philosophers. 

Thales, the famous Greek philosopher, who died b. c. 
548, held that the demons are spiritual beings, who never 
had been embodied as men. He divides the deities into 



OPINIONS OF THE HEATHEN. CL 

three calsses, viz. : Theos — God, the mind of the Wv Id , 
Psuchikai — Demons, spiritual beings ; and the Heroes, 
Heroos. The Heroes are the souls of departed men — of 
these the good are divine (agathas) ; the bad are vile 
(phaulas.) 

Plato, who died b. c. 348, says (in Sympsio) : " Pan 
to Daimonion metaxu esti Theoii te kai thnetou. — The 
demons hold a middle place between God and men." 

Clemens Alexandrinus, in speaking of Plato, says : 
*' HO Flaton de kai tois tkeois^^^ &c. Plato attributes 
a peculiar dialect to the gods, inferring this from dreams 
and oracles, and from the demoniacs, who do not speak 
their own language or dialect, but that of the demons who 
were entered into them. — Clem. Alex. Strom, i. 

Apulius, a. d. 40, {de Dcemoyiio Socratis) says of these 
demons, " They are immortal, without beginning or end, 
always existing from eternity. — TmmortOjles^ sine ullo vel 
fine vel exordio^ sed prorsus a retro (Lviterni.'''' — Vid. 
Mede, p. 627. They certainly then could not be human 
spirits. 

Plutarch, who died about a. d. 140, makes two classes 
of demons, viz. : (t) Souls separate from bodies, and (2) 
such as never dwelt in bodies at all. Both are called de- 
mons.- — See Plut. de defect. Orac. 

LuciAN, who died about a. d. 181, speaks of some in his 
day who " delivered the demoniacs from their terrors." — 
He then alludes to our Lord, as that Syrian of Palestine 
who cured the sick man, saying, " The man is silent, but 
the demon [ho daimon) answers either in the language of the 
Greeks or Barbarians, or whatsoever country he be. But 
he exorcising the demon, and also threatening biin. if he 
did not obey, drives out the demon, exelaunei ton dai- 



90 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DEL JilON. 

7nonay Lucian was no Christian, and hence his testi 
mony is not without value. — Lucian in Philopsend, p. 833. 
It is said by some that the Jews held, in common with 
some of the heathen, that the demons were the spirits of 
men, and that Josephus is of this number. True ; he says 
in his work, (De Bello Jud. B. vii. c. 6. §3,) " Daimonia 
tauta poneron estiii anthropon pneumata'''' — which may be 
rendered, '' These demons are the spirits of evil men." — - 
This seems to be the correct translation of the words ; but 
whether he held that they were the spirits of bad men having 
entered into the bodies of others, or that these demons 
are spirits possessing evil men, we shall not decide. The 
former idea would be contrary to his faith as a Pharisee, 
and to the teachings of the Old Testament; and yet he 
might have believed it. (See Twills on Demoniacs.) 

FAITH OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS, 

It is a matter of very little consequence what the heathen 
of antiquity believed on the subject of demoniacs. We see 
they were divided in their opinion. But we think the hea- 
then world at the present time would give a united testi- 
mony in favor of the demoniacs being evil angels, as dis- 
tinct from, the spirits of departed men. 

That the Christians of the first and second centuries be- 
lieved in the reality of demoniacal possessions, cannot be 
doubted by any one who has read the early history of the 
church. They had power also to cast these evil spirits 
out of the possessed. The number of those who were 
afflicted by these evil spirits, and who had been relieved, 
was great. Many of them were converted and were re- 
ceived into the church. They formed a distinct class of 
Christians, and were under the special care and direction 



OPINIONS OF THE FATHERS. 91 

of the exorcists in the Primitive Church, {*nd fur a while 
were kept separate from the others. When they became 
perfectly restored from the diseases produced by the pos- 
session, they were permitted to unite with the congregation 
in public worship, and to partake of the Lord's Supper. — 
Some of these believers were at times afflicted by these 
evil spirits, as well as those who were not Christians ; and 
in all cases these demons were subject to the authority and 
name of Jesus Christ. (See Dr. Coleman's Primitive 
Christianity. 

We hesitate not to express our firm belief that the de- 
mons spoken of in the New Testament were fallen angels, 
under the control and guidance of Satan ; and that the 
spiritual manifestations which are witnessed in this coun- 
try, and in various portions of the Christian world, are in 
like manner the work of the same evil angels. This was 
the belief of the church in the first and second centuries, 
as to the demoniacal possessions then. Of this fact there 
is an abundance of proof. 

Justin Martyr, a Christian Father, who died a. d. 
165, in his dialogue with Trypho the Jew, says that '• the 
gods of the heathen are demons, Daimones eisi oi Theoi 
ton ethiwn.'^'' This is the Greek translation of Ps. xcvi. 5, 
which in our translation reads '^ all the gods of the nations 
are idols [diliin vanities.") In speaking of Satan's de- 
ceiving our first parents, he calls him the ''man-hating 
demon. — Ho misantrk'^'opos Daimon?'' It would seem 
from this use of the word, that he held these demons to 
be evil spirits, a distinct class of beings from the souls of 
departed men. 

In his apology to the enemies of Christianity, Justin 
says, ^' many Christians throughout the world, and even in 



92 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

your own city, simply by calling upon the name of Jesus 
Christ, have healed many that were possessed of evil spir- 
its, and still continue to heal such." 

IrentEus, a little later in the second century, says, " that 
many through grace, received, from the Son of God who 
was crucified under Pontius Pilate, power to heal the sick, 
to cast out demons, and raise the dead ; that multitudes 
throughout the world daily exercised these gifts, without 
any magic, charm, or secret art, but merely by calling on the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Adv. Hcet, ii, 57, 

Tatian, a Christian writer of the same age, a. d. 170, 
says expressly, that ^' the demons who govern man are not 
the souls of men, ouk Eisin oi ton anthropon psuchaV — 
Orat. cont. Graecos, p. 154. On a previous page he says 
(p. 148,) of demons, that ^Hhey were ejected from the 
heavenly life, ekbletoi tes en ourano diaites gegenemenoi^^ 
that is, they were fallen angels. 

Theophilus Antiochenus, who was cotemporary with 
Tatian, says, (Lib.2, ad autocl.,p. 1, 4,) that he who tempt- 
ed Eve in Paradise, was " that mischievous demon called 
Satan, ho kakopoios Daimon^ ho kai Satan kaloumenosy 
He could not possibly hold that this demon was the spirit 
of a dead man of the human race, when as yet there were 
none who had died. 

Tertullian, of Carthage, who lived at the close of the 
second century, appeals to Scapula, the Roman Governor 
of that province, and tells him that he had officers uuder 
him who were indebted to Christians for acts of kindness, 
though they might now oppose them, and then adds, ^^ for 
the Secretary himself is one who has been delivered from 
an evil- spirit." ^' One may thank a Christian for the heaL 



OPINIONS OF THE FATHERS. 93 

ing of a relative, another for that of a son." Ter. ad Sea- 
pulam. 

Tertullian held that these " demons were invisible beings, 
endowed with spiritual power, living in the air, attending 
constantly on particular persons. They inflict on men's 
bodies diseases, and various grievous afflictions. They are 
the occasion of men going suddenly and extraordinarily 
mad. The subtlety and fineness of their nature enables 
them to enter into the bodies and the souls of men. Be- 
ing spirits, they have great power. They can act though 
they are invisible, and incapable of being felt ; and you 
must judge by the effect upon men, rather than by their 
act, which is invisible." 

Tertullian does not maintain that these demons are the 
spirits of departed men ; for he says, " esse substantias 
quasdam spiritales^ SfC^ *' that they are certain spiritual 
substances," while he defines the human soul to be " corpo- 
ralis^'' material. He also makes the demons to be authors 
of the fall of man. Apol. adv. Gent. c. xxii. De Anima c, 
xi: xxii. 

Cyprian, a. d. 250, held that the demons were fallen 
angels, the evil spirits who inspired the breasts of the 
heathen prophets, who are the authors of oracles, who 
creep into men's bodies, destroy their health, and cause 
diseases." Gyp. de Idolat. 

Arnobil^s, a. d. 300, says that ^* the name of Jesus once 
heard, puts the evil spirits to flight, silences the prophets, 
and makes the diviners foolish." Arnob. adv. Gent, Lib. 1, 
^ 46, p. 74. 

Lactantius, a. d. 310, following his preceptor, Arno- 
bius, says, '^ Let there be set before us one who, it is cer- 
tain, is possessed by a demon, and the Delphic priest or 



94 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

prophet ; we shall see them both in the same manner terri- 
fied at the name of God, and Apollo will with the same 
haste depart out of his prophet, as the spirit will out of 
the demoniac." Lib. iv. c. xxvii, 13, 14. "These de- 
mons being adjured by the name of the true God, imme- 
diately depart," p. 321, ed. 1698. 

EusEBius says that " the Heathen Prophecies and Ora- 
cles proceed from evil spirits,^^ and by this he means fallen 
angels. — Lib. v. c. 4. 

DEMONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHRIST'S 

NAME. 

In the " Martyrdom of Ignatius," sec. 4, Ignatius ad- 
dresses the Emperor Trajan, saying, '^ But, if because I 
am a trouble to those evil spirits, you call me wicked, I 
confess the charge ; for having within me Christ, the Hea- 
venly King, I dissolve all the snares of those demons." 
Wake's Epis, Apos. Fathers^ p, 131. 

Theophilus of Antioch, says, '* Demoniacs are some- 
times, even to this day, exorcised in the name of the living 
God, and these deceitful spirits confess themselves to be 
demons, A:az oinologei auta ta plana pneumata einai Dai- 
monesP — Ad. Autocl. Ed. Ox. I. 2, p. 71. 

Iren^us, speaking of the miraculous powers given to the 
true disciples of Christ, says, that they dispossessed evil 
spirits, exorcising them in the name of Christ. " Some," 
he says, " certainly and truly eject demons, oi men gar 
daimones elaunousi bebaios kai alethos.''^ He speaks of 
" others who heal the sick by the imposition of hands, and 
restore them whole, allot de tous^'' &fc. — Adv. Har. I. 2, c, 
57. 

Origen says, so great was the power of the name of Je- 



OPINIONS OF THE FATHERS 95 

BUS against demons that it has success, even when named 
by wicked persons, as Jesus himself taught in Matt, vii : 
22, " Many will say, in that day, have we not cast out de- 
vils, {Demons) in thy name — then will I profess unto them, 
I never knew you." ^' It is plain that Christians use none 
of the arts of enchanters, but the name of Jesus Christ." — 
Orig, Cont. Cels.^ I. I. 

The case of the seven sons of Sceva, the Jew, (Acts xix : 
13-20,) is a proof of the fact that wicked men have tried 
to cast out demons, by using the name of Jesus. And 
when our Lord was charged by the Jews, for casting out 
demons, as being in league with the devil. He asks them 
by what authority their children cast out evil spirits. He 
does not deny the fact that they did do so. Matt, xii : 
22-30. 

Cyprian, in writing to Demetrianus, the Proconsul of 
Africa, a bitter enemy of Christians, says, ^' ! that you 
would see and hear the gods of the Gentiles, when they 
are adjured by us and tormented by our spiritual scourges ; 
and cast out of the bodies they possessed, by the force of 
our words, when crying out, and lamenting with a human 
voice, and feeling the strokes of a Divine power, they con- 
fess the judgment to come : O si audire eos^ Deos Gen- 
tium^ velles et videre^'^ SfC — Cypr, Op. Ed. Ox., p. 191. 

Lactantius says that "the spirits adjured by the name 
of God depart out of bodies," As Christ himself east out 
all demons by his word, so do his followers now cast the 
same impure spirits out of men, both in the name of their 
Master, and by the sign of His passion." Lactan. de Sa- 
pient. ^ I. 4, c. 27. 

These quotations are quite sufficient to show us what 
the general opinion of the Christian Church, in the first 



96 SPIRITUALISM, A SvTANIC DELUSION. 

centuries of the Christian era was, in reference to these 
demons. They doubtless maintained that they were really 
and truly some of the fallen angels, who are under the con- 
trol of Satan, the Prince of the power of the air. The 
idea that they are the souls of departed human beings is 
without sufficient foundation, though the theory has now 
many advocates. 

But if we take into consideration the simple facts in the 
case, we must be convinced that the possessions in the days 
of our Lord, were by evil angels or spirits, wholly distinct 
from disease or from the souls of men. The facts are such 
as these, viz : 

1. They knew our Lord. Blark i : 24. 

2. They spoke to him, and made requests of him. Mark 
v: 7. 

3. The possessed were not always diseased, but some- 
times merely dumb or blind. Matt, ix : 32. 

4. Our Lord makes a distinction between healing dis- 
eases and casting out demons. Mark i : 34. 

5. The demoniacs themselves say that they were pos- 
sessed by evil spirits. The Jews said the same thing, and 
so did the apostles. And our Lord says he cast them out. 
Matt, iv : 25; Luke xi: 19. 

6. When the seventy disciples returned from one of their 
tours in preaching, one part of their joy was that the de- 
mons were subject to their authority when they used the 
name of Christ Jesus. Our Lord told them he saw Satan 
as lightning fall from heaven ; and bade them not rejoice 
so much, that the spirits were subject to them as that 
their names were written in heaven. Luke x : 18, 

7. These demons had a degree of knowledge and of 
power, which no human being ever had on earth. They 



SCRIPTUlwAL fACTS. 97 

knew that it was not the time fixed for their punishment 
wlien our Lord was on the earth. Such a knowledge was 
Dever revealed to man while on the earth, and no one can 
prov^e that the spirit of a man, after his departure from 
this world, receives such knowledge of the future. The 
strength of the demoniac was supernatural for man, and it 
we do not allow he was assisted by an evil spirit, it will 
be impossible to account for his wonderful strength. 

8. The Bible speaks of the Devil and his angels. Matt. 
XXV : 41 ; and if these which possess men are not his an- 
gels, it will be impossible to find them. Our Lord, we are 
told, went about doing good, and healing all who were op- 
pressed by the Devil. Now it is not likely that Satan 
should not employ his angels to oppress men in the flesh, 
but should employ the spirits of departed men to do that 
work for him, while his own angels are unemployed and 
idle. 

9. Unless we suppose the demons to be of the number^ 
of those who were cast out of heaven, it will be difficult to 
understand our Lord's remark, in Luke x : 18, where 
He says he saw" Satan like lightning fall from heaven, when 
taken in connection with the saying of the seventy, that 
the demons were subject to them through His name. Our 
Lord and they referred to the same beings. 

It appears to us impossible to give any other explana- 
tion of these demons of the New Testament, that will solve 
a,il the difficulties in the case, unless we allow that they 
are really and truly evil angels, under the control of Sa- 
tan, their prince and ruler. With this view, everything 
concerning them is plain ; without it, the wl^ole history is 
obscured and involved. 



98 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

SPIRITS NOW SUBJECT TO CHRIST. 

If now we look at the present manifestations, and com- 
pare them with the demonical possessions of the Scriptures, 
no one can fail to perceive their striking similarity ; and 
we think must see that they are works more in accordance 
with the workings of Satan and evil angels, than with the 
works of good spirits or of the holy saints or angels. 

It is evident that the effects produced upon the bodies 
of men, women and children in this country and in hea- 
then lands, at the present time, are similar to those 
that were produced in the times of our Lord. And what 
is equally striking in the case, is that all of them are sub- 
ject to the name of Jesus. Command any wicked sinner 
here, or in India, for example, in the name of Christ to be 
silent, and what will the effect be ? Probably he will curse 
you to your face, and will repeat that holy name with 
scorn. But, speak to a person possessed in any circle of 
spiritualists now, and command the spirit in the medium, 
the possessed one, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth to be 
silent, to depart from the person, or to leave the house alto- 
gether, and the effect upon the spirit is the same now 
that it was then. Evil spirits are compelled to submit to 
the authority of Jesus. They do it. But men in the flesh 
do not. 

There are instances in abundance on record, where these 
evil spirits have given responses to the inquiries, and when 
they have been adjured in the name of Christ to tell the 
truth, they have confessed themselves to be liars, and that 
their sole object was to deceive mankind. We might sup- 
pose that, after such a manifest proof of their satanic mis- 
sion, the spiritualists would see the impropriety, and the 



ANGELIC AND DEMONIAC POWER. 99 

foUj of seeking information from such a lying source. But 
no ; the delusion is strong : and the very fact that the 
questioner has compelled the spirit to answer correctly, 
gratifies him, and still leads him on to ask from this lying 
spirit other questions to which he will give again lying an- 
swers, or such as might gratify the pride or vanity of the 
enquirer. Thus step by step the person is led along, until, 
having become accustomed to hear the truth of God's word 
called in question, or perverted, he insensibly begins to 
think that the Bible may be false in some things, or if not, 
that it should receive another interpretation which just as 
effectually destroys its power over him as if it were false. 
The man that begins to doubt the truth of God's word is 
already ensnared by the Devil. He may escape ; but he 
should cry to God for help. 

We have already said that men do not lose their physi- 
cal powers now by their increase in wickedness : nor did 
the angels lose their power by becoming wicked. The 
devil contended with Michael the arch-angel about the 
body of Moses, (Jude 9) which shows us that he retains 
his strength still. He carried the body of our Lord up 
through the. air, and placed it on the pinnacle of the temple. 
(See Matt, iv: and Luke iv.) The spirits broke the fet- 
ters, and chains of the demoniac, and no power of man 
could forge bands and chains too strong for the evil spirits 
to break. Good angels opened barred doors, and rolled 
away the huge stone that was at the door of the sepulchre of 
our Lord ; and Philip was carried through the air by the 
spirit of the Lord and was set down at Azotus. We have 
no right to suppose that the evil angels are not as strong 
now as they were before their fall, and that they do not equal 
the good angels in strength. From all we can learn from 



100 

the Bible and from all we see of their operations now, we 
judge it is the case. 

THESE SPIRITS ARE THE EMISSARIES 

OF SATAN. 

This is their true character. We are forced into this be- 
lief from considerations such as the following : 

1. They do at times recall facts that are past ages ago, 
which no living man could know, but which are found af- 
terwards to be true, or at least so probable that they can- 
not well be doubted. 

2. They do unsettle the minds of many, and do lead 
many into madness, insanity and ruin. 

3. They have never yet been known to reveal any truth 
important for man to know, that is not already revealed to 
us in the Word of God, or that has not been discovered 
by the scientific aid of good men. 

4. They have never yet been known to lead one sinner 
to Jesus Christ for the pardon of his sins, and for the 
sanctification of his soul, nor is there one of the two mil- 
lions of spiritualists now in the land that has been savingly 
converted to Grod by spiritualism. They may have rapped 
the Universalism of one man, and the Atheism of another, 
out of them, and have made them believe that there is a Grod, 
and a future state ; but this is no more, after all, than the 
faith of the devil himself; and how much better are such 
believers in reference to future bliss, than they were before, 
or than Satan himself? Not a particle. Now, with all 
this ado about progress, and the New Philosophy, what, 
we ask, is the benefit of these manifestations that never yet 
did, and never can result in the pardon of one sin, or in tho 
sanctifi ?ation of one soul ? 



CHARACTER OF THE SPIRITS. 101 

5. These spirits most carefully, studiously, invariably 
at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances, 
give their testimony against the Word of God, and the 
plan of salvation that therein is made known to sinful 
man. Their invariable feeling towards Jesus is the same 
that it ever has been. " Jesus of Nazareth, let us alone ; 
what have we to do with thee ?" (Mark v : 24.) And what 
fellowship hath light with darkness, or Jesus with evil 
spirits ? 

They deny the fall of man ; they deny the fact of 
Christ's ,^onement, and its necessity for the salvation of 
man, and by one fell stroke, sweep away the whole plan 
and purpose of God as revealed through the Mediator be- 
tween God and man, the man Christ Jesus. This is the 
invariable teaching of the spirits. And if there be a spir- 
itualist who yet holds a different view of the subject, it is 
because he had been previously taught so, for spiritualism 
does not teach the necessity of salvation through the ato- 
ning blood of Christ. And if Christ and his salvation 
be taken away the remainder will be of no saving benefit 
to the soul. 

AN OBJECTION ANSWERED. 

It is said that spiritualism must be good, and from God, 
because many sick have been healed by or through the 
agency of mediums ; and it is triumphantly asked, would 
Satan do a good thing ? 

We reply, that for ourselves, we have no doubt that Sa- 
tan has a more thorougb knowledge of the nature of the 
soul and body of man, than the most profound metaphysi- 
cian, and the most learned anatomist in the world ; yea, 
that lie knows more than all of them together. He has 



102 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

been a stupid scholar if he does not. A course of study 
for six thousand years, by a mind that forgets nothing, arid 
Dy one who can look into the mysteries of nature, must 
oring in results which must infinitely (we might almost 
say,) surpass all that a fallen man of threescore years and 
ten can possibly attain. But wisdom is not goodness ; and 
doing a good act from a bad motive, is not good in itself, 
though it may be a good to some individual. The fisher- 
man will bait his hook well ; but it is to deceive and catch 
the silly fish. And why should not Satan, who must cer- 
tainly know, in many cases, what will heal diseases, pre- 
scribe the remedy, when he knows that by so doing he will 
gain the confidence of the restored one in the skill of the 
medium, and thus get honor to himself, who prescribes in 
the case. Surely Satan would have no objections to heal 
all the infirmities that '* flesh is heir to," if he could, by so 
doing, lead men to forsake the law of the Lord, and not to 
place their faith and hope in Christ. The few good things 
that may be done through the instrumentality of mediums, 
who may be sincere in all they do, can never compensate 
for the evils that must follow in the wake of these opera- 
tions. 

It is also said that many men, since they have embraced 
spiritualism, have become better men, so far as temper and 
disposition, and treatment of their families are concerned. 
We are always glad to hear that men have become moral, 
even if they do not become godly. But still, we say that 
while this change has taken place, it has been produced by 
such an agency, as to make them, if possible, more opposed 
to the plan of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
than they were before. Where, then, is the ultimate gain 
to them ? We ask the questions, and let the two miliioiiS 



TEXDEXCIES— s.\ta:nic wlsi om. 103 

of spiritualists in this country answer them. Does spirit- 
ualism teach its followers to love and reverence the Word 
of God, the Bible, more ? Does it lead them to love the 
Church of Christ more? Does it lead them to send out 
missionaries to the heathen, and to tell them of a Redeem- 
er for lost man ? Does it lead them to believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ alone for salvation from sin here, and for glo- 
ry hereafter ? The answer, we hesitate not to say, will be 
to each and all of these questions, a decided no. Can such 
a faith be from God ? or can the agencies which lead to 
such results, be from God ? Surely they cannot be. 

THERE IS WISDOM HERE. 

We are well aware that many good people, and many 
worthy ministers of Christ, are disposed to treat this whole 
subject with what might be called sovereign contempt. — 
They think, or at least they say, that such things as table- 
turning, table-tipping, and rappings, noises, writing music, 
(fee, are so supremely ridiculous, so far beneath the dig- 
nity of any mind, that even Satan himself would not con- 
descend to trouble himself with them. They have a higher 
opinion of Satan than that. It is too great a stoop for 
his angelic mind. Hence they affirm that the whole thing 
is a trick; and because some do make money by it, they 
affirm that all are alike, all are cheats or deceivers, and 
are palming off upon the people for realities, what they 
know to be falsities and lies. Such words of emptiness 
prove nothing. They rather confirm the unhappy subject 
of these operations in their defence of them, than show 
them how they may escape out of the fowler's snare. 

But so far from these things being supremely ridiculous 
and the manifestations of folly, there is in them a depth 



104 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

of cniining, and a profoundness of wisdom, and a far-reach- 
ing plan, which it falls not to the wisdom of man to de- 
vise. If it be the object of the Evil One to deceive and 
mislead man, and if it be his interest to conceal his own 
agency, and to urge on his victim to acts and thoughts in- 
creasingly hostile to God, by means seemingly consistent 
with, and apparently proceeding from man's natural powers, 
we can easily understand why phenomena — trivial in them- 
selves, but admirably adapted to excite curiosity and open 
up fresh grounds for research — should be selected, and how 
facts of a more prominent and imposing description would 
have been utterly unsuitable for such a purpose. 

Every one knows that slight interferences with the ordi- 
nary course of events are far more thrilling and exciting 
than larger manifestations of power. Go into your bed- 
chamber, for example, and lie down upon your bed, in the 
stillness and the quiet of the night, and a slight rustling 
of the bed-curtains ; a gentle pulling at the bed-cover ; 
the real or imaginary foot-fall of some one on the floor; a 
slight tapping noise ; or a mistaken moaning of the wind, 
will produce more mental disturbance and more anxiety of 
mind, and will rob you of more hours of sleep, than the 
vivid lightning-flash or the heavy crash of God's voice of 
thunder in the heavens. 

It is precisely so with these spirit-manifestations of which 
we are speaking. People may laugh at them, and ministers 
of Christ may speak contemptuously of them ; but Satan 
knows what he is doing. He has not devised this plan for 
naught ; and never did he broach a more cunning and 
plausible scheme to ruin souls in an enlightened land than 
this. It would not do for a heathen world, but here it 
will ; for it tends in an especial manner to foster the pride 



SATANIC WISIOM. 105 

of the unsanctified heart, by extolling reason and placing 
it above the inspiration of the Word of God. This plan 
falls in with the godless intellectualism of the age. Science, 
in the hands of these men, arrays herself against revelation. 
They vainly suppose that the chapters which God has 
written on the stars in the heavens, on the hidden and vis- 
ible rocks of the earth, and on earth's rugged and scarred 
face, must of necessity contradict what He hath written 
by the pen of Moses in the book of the creation. Surely 
God cannot contradict, in the work of his hands, what He 
has written in the book of Revelation. What astronomer 
or geologist, who is not deceived through the pride of his 
heart, can suppose that God, who is the Author of nature 
and of Revelation, can in the least degree contradict his 
own testimony, wherever and however it may be given ? — 
And yet Satan would make men believe that, by reason 
and by science, they have made the discovery that God's 
Word, as revealed in the Bible, does not mean what it 
says. 

We would put down naught in malice on this subject, but 
would seek to speak the truth in love, and seek to show 
just what this last device of Satan does set forth to man in 
place of God's own unchanging truth. 

" The grand aim and tendency of Spiritualism," says a 
medium of high authority, " is to unite mankind in har« 
mon3^" Hence spirit intercourse operates — 

" 1. Negatively, by removing obstacles to practical re- 
form arising from undue concentration of mind oTi future 
interests^ to neglect of present duties. People are so intent 
on saving themselves from a supposed external and distant 
danger, 'that they ruin themselves internally by neglecting 
the culture of their higher and inner nature. Expecting 



106 

to be saved by something external^ they become selfish and 
degraded, so as to be incapable of realizing anything but a 
low phase of being, here or elsewhere. A belief in spirit- 
ual intercourse stimulates to self-culture and social re- 
form." 

*' 2. Positively^ by spreading a knowledge of the laws 
of life and health, physical and spiritual ; by energiziog 
principles of love and wisdom, causing a desire for a true 
physical and a higher form of social life, measurably free 
from the selfish element^ gratifying the social faculties by 
association with congenial minds ; by developing our own 
spiritual nature, so that we can more readily perceive 
affinities^ maU^imonial and otherwise. Those in commu- 
nion with a class of spirits above them, run no risk of 
forming uncongenial matrimonial relations, as a spirit out 
of the form can perceive aflSnities more readily than a per- 
son in the natural body ; consequently, marriages formed 
by them will be happy ones, and the offspring of such, 
gentle and loving, harmonizing the future." — Epitome of 
Spirit Intercourse^ p. 95. 

In plain English, we are here taught (1) that a fixedness 
of mind upon the great interests of the soul and of our fu- 
ture eternal interests, is an obstacle to practical social re- 
form in society ; or, in other words, the best reformers of 
society are those who think least about the interests of the 
soul, and who are not like one who said, '^My heart is 
fixed, trusting in the Lord." 

(2.) That our salvation and future life depend upon the 
culture and development of our inner nature, and a knowl- 
edge of the laws of life, and rot upon Christ, who is our 
life. 

(3.) That the higher form of social life is that freedom 



SPIRIT-THEOLOGY. 1 07 

from the " selfish element" which says, " let every man 
have his ovm wife, and let every woman have her ow7i hus- 
band. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevo- 
lence, and likewise also the wife unto the husband." — 1 
Cor. vii : 2, 3. The Free Love system is the beau ideal 
'^f social bliss. 

(4.) That Christianity which teaches that the soul of 
man is saved by something external, or out of himself, 
viz. : by the blood and atonement of Christ, degrades hu- 
man nature, and makes it selfish. 

Here, then, we have the sum and substance of this 
boasted life, this new philosophy, this great scheme of 
social reform and of human regeneration, to which all 
these spirit manifestations would lead us. Such a system 
of doctrines as this, that excludes Christ and his salva- 
tion ; that denies his Divine nature, and debases him to 
the level of a mere creature ; that denies the redemption 
of the soul by the meritorious death of Christ ; that re- 
jects the Bible, the Word of God, as being a true revela- 
tion from God, and the only infallible rule of faith and 
practice, and with it all the doctrines it contains, is one of 
the devices of the Devil, by which he will receive for him- 
self a temporary power, such as he has not yet had, over 
the souls of men, before his final ejection from this world 
by the brightness of the coming of the Son of man. 

The few acts of relief to suffering humanity that may be 
performed by the so-called healing mediums, through spi- 
rit agency, supposing them all to be veritable realities, 
are but a part of the grand system of Satanic deception, by 
which the multitudes are led to place more confidence in 
them and less in God. It is the lure in the great game 
of life by which aortals, having gained a temporary respite 



108 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

from bodily pain, are emboldened to trust their souPs sal- 
vation in the hands of this skillful player, and lose their 
all, soul and body, at a throw. Oh ! it is a sad sight to 
see rational beings calmly and deliberately stepping from 
off the Kock of Ages, and ven4^uring their eternal hopes 
upon the quicksands of Satanic fraud ! Probation ended 
here, they are eternally undone unless they be found in 
Christ. But this Arch-deceiver would cheat poor, deceived 
humanity, by assuring them that man's destiny is one of 
final, endless bliss; that progress, and progress in and 
toward perfect fellowship with Grod, is the law of our na- 
ture, and which must so develop itself, without a Saviour 
and without an atonement for the sins of man. 

Let us not be ignorant of Satan's devices. No earthly 
reform of human device can save this world from the 
righteous judgments of an insulted and offended Grod. 
This earth is destined for a baptism of fire. God has so 
declared it. And although Satan, who is neither omnis- 
cient nor omnipresent, holds now a permitted yet restricted 
usurpation of this world, and exercises his implacable op- 
position to Grod and man, yet he cannot surpass the limits 
which Jehovah, our God, has prescribed for him. God's 
pre-determined plans and purposes are moving onward, 
steadily and rapidly, and will infallibly result in the re- 
establishment of his authority and his will throughout the 
length and breadth of this wide creation. Satan, power- 
less to arrest the purposes of God, is ever watching his 
opportunity to oppose and disturb them, and is adapting 
his operations to veil and to resist the new developments 
of God's purposes as they successively appear. His vast 
intellectual resources ; his 'practical knowledge of the hu- 
man heart ; his uninterrupted acquaintance with the entire 



WHY THESE MANIFESTATIONS NOW? 109 

history of this world for the past 6000 years combined with 
his unquestionable knowledge of the probable future^ so far 
as he is able to obtain it by the exercise of a profound intel- 
ligence in the examination of the records of revealed truth, 
not omitting his access to heavenly places, and the incal- 
culable number of his subordinate agents, all combine to 
impress us with the immensity of his sway, and with the 
greatness of that warfare wliich is going on between him 
and the Son of God. 

The deep and unfathomable mystery of those events pre- 
dicted in the Word of Grod ; of Satan's opposition to holi- 
ness and to Grod ; of his binding for a thousand years in 
the abyss, and of his subsequent release for a season ; and 
of his final and eternal banishment from God — his being 
cast into the lake of fire, with all those who may have been 
deceived by him, should be no barrier to their reception 
and belief. They are clearly written for our instruction. 
And whether men believe what God has revealed to us or 
not, He will none the less certainly do His work, His strange 
work, and bring to pass His act, His strange act upon the 
earth. Is. xxvii : 21. 

WHY THESE MANIFESTATIONS NOW? 

Satan always has a reason for what he does, and we may 
be assured that there can be no T)ecial manifestation of 
Satanic power or device, unless it b to oppose some special 
plan or purpose of God with which he may have been made 
acquainted, or which on the eve of being developed, he 
would, if possible, resist. The plans of God have all been 
laid back in the ages of eternity. They are all gradually 
being developed, and fulfilled. To us these plans cannot 
be known except as they may be revealed to us in the 



110 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

Word of God, or in their actual accomplishment And 
even those that are revealed to us, most clearly in the 
Word of G-od, are concealed from us, in many cases, by the 
devices of Satan. He often forces men to put a wrong 
interpretation upon the promises and the predictions of the 
Word of God, so that we may be kept in ignorance of their 
true import. By so doing we lose the encouragement the 
promise is designed to give us : and we neglect to prepare 
for the events which the prediction assures are coming, and 
may be nigh at hand. 

We would not attribute to Satan what belongs alone to 
man ; but we are clear in our own convictions that no 
man ever did calmly and deliberately introduce a false 
mode of interpreting the Word of God, by which its blessed 
truths were obscured, its meaning mystified, and its encour- 
agements and warnings hidden from men, without being 
assisted by Satanic wisdom, and Satanic craft. God, by 
His sovereign grace, has kept the fountain of His own Word 
pure, and the Bible stands forth to-day, a miracle of God's 
wonderful power and goodness in its preservation. The 
Masorites may make a commentary on the Hebrew text in 
the shape of points and accents, but the text itself remains 
pure. It is so also in the Greek original. God has pre- 
served it. Let us rejoice in this. Let any man, then, 
take the Word of the Lord, and with the best translation he 
can get of the original text, and with the teachings of 
God's spirit let him seek to know the will of God, and he 
will not be disappointed. He will know the truth. 

The Bible most clearly reveals to us the fact that the 
kingdoms of this world will, ere loijg, become the kingdom 
of our Lord and of his Christ, Eev. xi : 15; that Satan 
will be bound for a thousand years, Rev. xx : 1-4 ; that 



SATANIC POWER SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 1 1 I 

angels will again visit our earth in forms visible to men, 
John i: 51 ; that this whole world will come into the pos- 
session of God's people, and will be ruled by them under 
the special control of our Lord himself, Dan. vii: 27; 
Rev. V : 10; and that the whole government of earth, as 
now managed by the men of this world, will pass away, 
and that Satan's usurped dominion on earth will forever 
cease. Everything in the signs of the times, and in the 
unfolding of the prophecies, shows us that the millennial 
glory of the Church, and of the world is not far distant, 
God will not introduce that glorious dispensation without 
some signal displays of His power and grace. Satan, from 
his knowledge of the Scriptures, and from what he sees of 
God's plans now maturing, plainly perceives that the day 
of his overthrow is nigh at hand. He has now but a short 
time ; and hence his special effort to keep the world of sin- 
ners still under his power. He is deceiving them by his 
false miracles, and by his pretended revelations from God, 
through the professed spirits of the departed, so that when 
our Lord shall manifest His miraculous power and won- 
derful workings again on the earth, the people will be dis- 
posed to attribute His divine workings and revelations to 
the same source whence these present manifestations spring. 
Thus will Satan continue to deceive the people. They 
will not take the warning that God may give them, and 
hence will not be prepared for the glories that are to be 
revealed in that day. 

Among the signs of the times of our Lord's near ap- 
proach, these Satanic delusions are not the least important. 
And while they exhibit to us another of Satan's plans to 
ruin the souls of men, they show us also how great is this 
power over man. Who would have thought that, from the 



112 

gmall beginnings, in this country, of these manifestations 
in New York, in 1847, they would have spread all over 
our land, and in less than ten years would have led two 
millions of the people to reject Christ and his atonement, 
and to believe that they can, through these mediums, hold 
communion with the spirits of the departed, and get from 
them that satisfactory information concerning the future 
which the Bible withholds from .us. But this is not all. 
The Spirit of God expressly declares '^ that in the latter 
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to se- 
ducing spirits and teachings of demons." 1 Tim. iv : 2. 
They will speak lies in hypocrisy. They will forbid to 
marry, and encourage vices of the most revolting nature, 
though spoken of by winning names. And such will be the 
power of these Satanic delusions, that all, save the elect of 
Grod, shall be deceived by them. It really seems as if 
these things are all being rapidly fulfilled in our day. 
The people would not have Jesus to reign over them, and 
now he is permitting them to believe a lie, the grand lie 
of Satan, that Jesus is not the Saviour of sinners, and that 
lie has made no atonement for the sins of men. 

Years ago, we said, while speaking on prophetic subjects, 
that Satan would not surrender his hold on this world 
without a struggle, and that his efforts to deceive the world, 
and to hinder the work of the Church of Christ, would be 
increased more and more in proportion as we approached 
the millennial dispensation of the Church, when Satan shall 
be bound and cast out of this world. And every day's ex- 
perience convinces us more and more of the truth of this 
statement. Indeed, the Scriptures assure us that, ^^ as it 
was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of 
the Son of man ; or so shall the coming of the Son of man 



SPIRITUALISM NOT NEW. 113 

be." Luke xvii : 26 ; Matt, xxiv : 37. The idea seems to 
be that there will be great wickedness in the world, and a 
great falling away from the faith in the Church. We do 
not suppose that any of those who are savingly united to 
Christ will perish — but the Church, in its organized capa- 
city, will greatly depart from the faith and the zeal of the 
apostles, so that half of the virgins will be wise, and half 
foolish ; but all will be asleep. Matt, xxv : 1-1 3. 

All this seems to be hastening to its accomplishment. 
And while the Gospel is in the act of being preached, in 
all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and while it 
is gathering out of this world a people for God's name, 
(Acts XV : 13-17), Satan will, of course, make corres- 
ponding efforts to oppose it. His plans of opposing the 
progress of the Church of Christ, in this world, may all be 
reduced to two, viz : 1. Corrupting the Word of God ; or, 
in some way neutralizing its power upon the hearts of the 
people ; and 2. Dividing and distracting the Church, so 
that, instead of making a united and vigorous and per- 
severing effort to spread the Gospel, the news of salvation 
to the ends of the earth, her efforts are spent more than is 
needful, in the affairs of this life, or in contending against 
each other. 

SPIRITUALISM NOT NEW. 

- I. Spiritualism then, as a system, as now understood, ia 
nothing new. It is only old error in a new form, and 
adapted to the refinement and the intellectualism of the 
age. Let any man read the history of the Church in the 
first and second centuries of the Christian Era in conDec- 
tion with the New Testament statenients, and he will find 
there all the errors or the germs of them, that have beeu 



114 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

used by Satan to harass the Church of God. The devil 
has no new plans in opposing the cause of Christ. He has 
used them all before. To us they may be new. We have 
to fight over again the battles the apostles and the Church, 
in past ages, have fought. Our weapons are the same that 
they had : and our foe is the same, and his plans and de- 
vices are the same. 

With the politician, in this land, Satan sounds the alarm 
of " Union of Church and State !" And hence, to save the 
State from being injured by the little religion that the 
Cliurch can get incorporated into her laws, the effort is 
made to heathenize the people, by excluding from the popu- 
lar education the Word of God altogether. No man, no set 
jf men can vote to legislate the Word of the Living God 
out from the system of instruction that is adopted for the 
education of our youtti, without his being under the direct 
influence of the devil. The man may not be conscious of the 
fact, any more than the mediums of the present day are, but 
that does not alter the case. The vote is cast to shut out 
God and his law from the youthful mind, that, in due time, 
is to control the affairs of the State, when the present voters 
shall be dead. " The law of the Lord is perfect, converting 
the soul ; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the 
simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the 
heart ; the commandment of the Lord is pure, (clear) en- 
lightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean (pure), 
enduring for ever ; the judgments of the Lord are true 
and righteous altogether.'' Ps. xix : 7-10. If this be so, 
then any one can readily perceive why Satan should so 
perseveringly oppose the introduction of God's word into 
the soul. Educate the mind without the truth of God, 



THE WORKING OF SATAN. 115 

and you educate it for evil here and for woe hereafter. If 
the Word of the Lord by God's Spirit converts the soul, 
then it makes inroads upon the kingdom of Satan in this 
world, and hence this fierce and continued opposition. See 
the sad effects of this exclusion of the Word of God from 
the minds of the youth, as they are exhibited this day, in 
the faith, the lives and the hopes of eight hundred millions 
of the human race. Oh ! see the deep, deep moral night 
that hangs yet over them. Science and civilization, and 
the arts combined, can never dispel that darkness. No- 
thing can do it but the Word of God, blessed by His Spirit 
to the enlightenment and salvation of the soul. And this 
Word Satan would still keep from man. 

But, when he cannot keep the Word of the Lord from a 
free circulation, as it is in this and in all Protestant lands, 
then his plan is to corrupt, or pervert its meaning, so that 
being mixed up with error, its power upon the soul is lost, 
and it becomes an useless weapon in the hands of him who 
would do battle against Satan. In the first century, and 
before the apostles were dead, the Gnostics arose, who de- 
nied that the books of the Old Testament were of Divine 
authority. They held that marriage ought to be discour- 
aged, and that Christ was not a Divine person. 

The Nicholaitans were united to the Gnostics in their 
heresies, and were remarkable for their unbridled licen- 
tiousness. Their deeds were such as God hated. Eev. ii : 6. 

The Cerinthians, too, denied the Divinity of Christ, 
among other things. 

And in the second century, the doctrine of Christ's Di- 
vine nature was denied, in addition to the other errors 
already mentioned ; and Jesus was looked upon only as a 
man. 



116 ftPIRITUALISMj A SATAN C DELUSION. 

So that we have there the same errors that are now em- 
bodied under the name of Spiritualism. That there are 
some who seem favorably inclined to this form of Satanic 
delusion, and who think that in reality it is, in some de- 
gree, a new revelation from God, and that they really do 
hold intercourse with the spirits of their departed friends, 
we doubt not. They are good people whom Satan is en- 
deavoring to lead astray. And if he cannot draw them 
away from their faith in the Word of the Lord, he will 
lead them to sin, as did Saul, in consulting with familiar 
spirits, instead of seeking light alone from God, and from 
His Word. 

THE WITCH OF ENDOR. 

Satan made Saul believe that he did in reality talk with 
Samuel. But he was deceived in this thing. Being forsaken 
of God, and knowing not what to do, he went, in open viola- 
tion of God's command, to consult with evil spirits, and to 
get if possible, from them, the information that God with- 
held from him. This history is full of instruction to all 
of our day ; and especially does it give a lesson of warning 
to those who are led away by the delusions of Satan now. 

The history is found at length in 1 Samuel xxviii. — 
Bishop Patrick, Dr. Clarke, and others, hold that the spirit 
of Samuel did really appear, and that this was done, not 
through the power or magical arts of the woman, but con- 
trary to her expectation, by the permission of God. But 
there is no necessity for supposing that the spirit of Sam- 
uel did actually appear. If Satan can transform himself 
into the appearance of an angel of light, so can he assume 
the appearance of any of the saints of the Lord. That 
Satan does, at will, assume diflferent forms for the purpose 



THE WITCH OF ENDOR. 117 

of deception, is apparent from the Bible. These appari- 
tions are not confined to one age or place. They occur 
whenever it suits Satan's purposes to take a shape or form 
that will aid him in his plans of deceit. It seems impro- 
bable, for the following reasons, that the spirit of Samuel 
did really appear. Because, 

1. God refused to answer Saul by prophets, or by Urim, 
or by dreams, when he personally enquired of him. 1 Sam. 
xxviii : 6. Why then should he send Samuel from the 
spirit world, at the wish or conjurations of a witch, to do 
what he had just before refused to do ? 

2. Saul paid the spectre religious worship. He bowed 
his face to the ground and worshiped him. (Heb. vayish- 
tahoo. Vulg. adm'avit.) This adoration Samuel neither 
could nor would receive, Rev. xxii : 8, 9 ; but Satan him- 
self could and did. 

3. He pretends to have been disquieted by Saul and the 
witch's power. This is putting the saints of the Lord, 
after their departure from this world, in the power of mor- 
tals on the earth. 

4. She represents the spirit of Samuel as coming up out 
of the ground. This accords exactly with Is. xxix : 4, 
which informs us that familiar spirits thus appear, and 
their voices issue from the ground. '' And thou shalt be 
brought down and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy 
speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be 
as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and 
thy speech shall whisper out of the dust." 

5. The spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spi- 
rit had taken hold of him, and doubtless was still with him, 
and now appeared to him, dressed up like Samuel when on 
the earth. — 1 Sam. xvi * 14. 



118 SPIRITtfAL:?gM, A SATANIC DELUSION, 



6. The prediction of Saul's death was true as to the 
facty but not as to the time ; for it was not the next day 
that Saul died. But if the Hebrew word faachar^ rendered 
*' to-morrow," means merely future time, then this is only 
what Satan might judge would be the case. 

7. Saul was cut off from life for two things. The first 
was for disobeying God in the matter of Amelek, v. 18. — 
The second was for asking counsel from one who had a fa- 
miliar spirit, (1. Chron. x: 13.) It appears impossible, 
then, that Samuel should be sent by the Lord, at the re- 
quest of a witch, and thus sanction a wickedness for which 
Saul was killed. 

8. The prediction that Saul and his sons should die on 
to-morrow, or soon, was true only in part. Three of 
Saul's sons were slain, (xxxi : 2,) but his two other sons, 
Armoni and Mephibosheth, lived, and were long after 
hanged by the Gibeonites, 2 Sam. xxi : 9, if we get the 
correct idea from this history. 

Not to multiply reasons which might be offered, we con- 
clude that Satan himself appeared in this case, and not 
one of his angels, as on ordinary occasions. And this 
would be sufficient to terrify the woman herself, and to ac- 
count for all that had happened. 

II. Satan's other plan is to distract the Church, or to 
divide her into fragments, and, if possible, array each sepa- 
rate family of the household of faith against the others. — 
The different denominations of Christians now on the face 
of the earth, are a proof of Satan's power. While we hold 
the great doctrines of the Gospel, yet his influence is such 
as to make God's people contend more earnestly for a form 
of faith than for the faith itself, and to spend more time 
and effort in defending a rite in the Church than would be 



TENDENCIES SATANIC WISDOM. 1 19 

needful to save many from the power of Satan. And even 
in the matter of Spiritualism as now developed, we doubt 
not but he will lead many in the Church to hand over 
their brethren bodily into the hands of Satan, rather than 
to make prayerful and faithful efforts to save them from 
the fowler's snare. That Spiritualism, as it is now de- 
veloped in our midst, is a device of Satan to oppose, in 
anticipation, the coming and kingdom of our Lord, we 
cannot doubt. Our efforts should be, in love, to save, not 
destroy ; to compassionate, not condemn those who may 
be possessed by Satan. And if the Church of Christ, at 
first, had the power to cast out demons, why may she not 
do so yet ? Some kinds of demons can be dispossessed 
only by prayer and fasting. If God's people would seek 
from Him the faith they need, they may not only keep 
themselves out of the power of these evil spirits, but may 
cast them out of those who are now possessed. So saith our 
Lord; and so we believe. — Mark xvi : 17, 18. 

CONCLUSION. 

Not to extend these remarks any farther, we would say 
to any who have not thought it labor lost to read these 
pages, to put no confidence in the revelations that may be 
made by Satan and his angels through those whom he has 
employed as mediums. If they should at any time accord 
with the truth, that is only designed by him to win the 
confidence of the deceived, so that Satan may the more 
easily deceive them to their final undoing. The awful 
language of the apostle Paul, in 2 Thess. ii : 11, 12, is 
not without its solemn significancy at the present time^— 
^' For this cause God shall send them strong delusior, that 
they should believe a lie ; tliat they all might be damned 



120 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION. 

who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unright- 
eousness." 

" Resist the Devil and he will flee from you," is both 
the command and the promise of the Lord. *' Have no fel- 
lowship with these unfruitful works of darkness, but rather 
reprove them. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye 
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil ; for 
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against princi- 
palities and powers ; against the rulers of the darkness of 
this world ; against wicked spirits in the heavenly places;, 
en tois epouranioisJ^'' — Eph. vi : 11, 12. 

We quote, as very appropriate, at the close of these re- 
marks, the language of one who had been a warm advocate 
of Spiritualism, and who wrote and published much in its 
favor, but who, having seen the delusion in its right light, 
sends forth his warning voice to those who are yet led cap- 
tive by Satan unto his will. He says : 

'^ Now, after a long and constant watchfulness, seeing 
for months and years its progress and its practical work- 
ings upon its devotees, its believers, and its mediums, we 
are compelled to speak our honest conviction, which is, 
that the manifestations coming through the acknowledged 
mediums, who are designated as rapping, tipping, writing, 
and entranced mediums, have a baneful influence upon 
believers, and create discord and confusion ; that the gene- 
rality of these teachings inculcate false ideas, approve of 
selfish, individual acts, and endorse theories and principles 
which, when carried out, debase and make men little better 
than the brute. These are among the fruits of modern 
Sl^ritualism, and we do not hesitate to say that we believe 
if these manifestations are continued to be received, and 
to be as little understood as they are, and have been since 



A WARNING VOICE. 121 

they made their appearance at Rochester, and mortals are 
to be deceived by their false, fascinating, and snake-like 
charming powers which go with them, the day will come 
when the world will require the appearance of another Sa- 
viour [not another, but the Saviour himself] to redeem the 
world from its departing from Christ's warnings." 

Again he adds — " Seeing, as we have, the gradual pro- 
gress it makes with its believers, particularly its mediums, 
from lives of morality to those of sensuality and immora- 
lity^ gradually, and cautiously undermining the founda- 
tion of good principles, we look back with amazement to 
the radical change which a few months will bring about in 
individuals, for its tendency is to approve and endorse each 
individual act and character, however good or bad these 
acts may be." 

He concludes by saying — ^' We desire to send forth our 
warning voice, and if our humble position, as the head of a 
public journal, our known advocacy of Spiritualism, our 
experience, and the conspicuous part we have played among 
its believers, the honesty and the fearlessness with which 
we have defended the subject, will weigh anything in 
our favor, we desire that our opinions may be received, 
and those who are moving passively down the rushing 
rapids to destruction, should pause, ere it be too late, and 
save themselves from the blastincr influence which those 
manifestations are causing." — J". F, Whitney^ Ed, N, Y. 
Pathfinder, 

Here is a warnino; voice from a o-entleman of whom we 
have no knowledge further than what we obtain from these 
brief extracts from his paper. But it is a warning most 
seasonable, kind, and true. May it be fully heeded. And 
may God give grace to those who are now deceived by ths 



122 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSIOPf, 

adversary, so that they may acknowledge the truth as it 18 
in Christ Jesus, and that they may recover themselves out 
of the snare of the devil. 2 Tim. ii : 26. 

To all we would say — identify yourselves with the cause 
of Christ — love him and his cause sincerely. — Serve him 
faithfully. Rely for salvation on his atonement alone. — 
Walk by faith, and lead a holy life, and in the end you 
will triumph over Satan and all your spiritual foes. Then 
will you be able to sing the victor's song of " Glory to 
God and to the Lamb :" and to shout aloud with a grate- 
ful heart, " thanks be to God who giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ." And in the language of 
the apostle we would say — " Yet I would have you wise 
unto that which is good, and simple (akeraious^ blameless) 
in that which is evil. And the God of peace shall bruise 
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." Rom. xvi ; 19-20. 



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Progress, and End 5 with numerous TRACTS on Praphetical subjects. By H. L. 
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The " Controversy" sketches the History of the World since man's revolt from GocL 
narrates the judgments already inflicted upon the nations of the earth for their iniqui 
ties, and those more terrible and exterminating calamities yet to overwhelm tlie natioii:: 
and prepare the way for the establishment of a divine governm.eut upon the earth. 
The TRACTS are : " The Church not in Darkness," " The Three Worlds," "■ The Last 
Days," "Plain Truths," "Ancient Landmarlis," " Important Questions," "Olivo 
LeavGs," etc. etc, 5 a valuable^and spirited colkction. 

fjjiel] > By Mail: 1 Bonk, cloth $1.00, paper 50 cts.: 5 Books, cloth $4.50, paper $2. 

xjHisa C By Express: 5 Books, " 3.75, " $1.'75 : 20 " " 12.00, " 0, 

n*iCeS. ) '' " 50 " " 28.0a, " 14.00 5 100 " " 52.00, " . 2« 

SEPARATE PAMPHLETS NOT BOUND lU CLOTH. 

1 THESSALONICA 5 or, the Model Church. 25 cts. 2. THE GREAT CONTRO- 
YERSY, 25 cts. 3. REASONS FOR MY HOPE, 20 cts. 4, SPIRITUALISM, 20 cts. 
5 Looking Forward, 10 cts. 6. SOCIAL HYMNS, original and selected. By H. L. li., 
10 cts. single; $1 for 12 copies; $6 for 100 copies by mail,-~post-paid. 

TRACT.^ PRACTICAL and SCRIPTURAL in great variety. 1800 pages for $1; by 
mail, 1300 pages for $1. Tracts and pamphlets free to the poor and to mimsters. 
Discount to those who buy to sell again. 
Direct all -orders, ivith the money ^ and plain directions for sending the books, to 
Juno, 186i. H. L. HASTINGS, 167 Hanorer St., Boston. 



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